Soldier of Hope
by Fire Slash
Summary: (AU Soldier Naegi!). What if instead of being the ultimate lucky student, Naegi was the ultimate soldier? What if instead of being the ultimate soldier, Ikusaba was the ultimate lucky student? Will the events of the first killing game be altered with this switch? Or is everything written in stone?
1. Chapter 1: Introducing the Soldier

**Authors note: hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to my new story! This idea randomly popped into my head one night, and I decided to use it to write a story. Now I don't know if I'll be updating this once a month like my other story Healing Wounds (the next chapter is comic out in two weeks btw) or if I'll update randomly. For now, review and enjoy :-).**

0000

If you presented Makoto Naegi to any random individual, the first thing they would do is make a remark about how painfully average he looked. After all, he had no defining traits which would make him stand out in public, except for the fact he was rather short for a high school boy. However, underneath all that plainness hid the most dangerous person alive, the one dubbed the ultimate soldier. Having mastery over various types of weaponry, hand to hand combat, and full knowledge of the human anatomy, Naegi was certainly someone you do not want to mess with, unless you have a death wish.

As a young boy, Naegi was always fascinated with war. Whenever his parents would watch war related movies, the young boy would sit through them, not cringing at any of the gory scenes. Originally his parents would prevent him from watching, but Naegi proved to be way too stubborn for them to constantly deal with him. As such, they eventually allowed him to sit through the movies.

At the ripe age of seven, Naegi begged his parents to let him take judo and kendo, wanting to increase his fighting capabilities. While curious as to why he wanted to learn how to fight, Naegi told them that he wanted to be like his favorite war heroes. While his response caused eyebrows to be raised, his parents eventually gave in, allowing their son to take classes. Much to their and his masters' surprise, Naegi was an extremely quick learner in the arts of fighting, having mastered enough techniques to beat those twice as big as him in only a year.

When he was eleven years old, the Naegi family went on vacation to Europe for summer vacation. However, during the break, Naegi went missing. Unknown to his parents and sister, he had begun to do research about a mercenary group known as Fenrir before the break began. Having known the group would be in Europe, Naegi was the one to suggest going to Europe in the first place, an idea his parents agreed upon. Having joined the group, Naegi was taught how to use firearms and melee weapons, all while his parents and sister were searching frantically for him. Impressed with Naegi's skill, they sent the boy out on several missions, somewhat expecting the worst from the young boy. However much to their surprise, Naegi came back from all of his missions unharmed. When his entire squadron went down, the boy was able to carry on the missions with some success.

Three days before school started, he returned home and was greeted by his crying family, eager to see their son alive. Sadly, Naegi was still grounded for sneaking away.

0000

Despite being a soldier, Naegi has a heart of gold. When presented an opportunity to spare someone's life, he immediately did so. By doing so, he gained some valuable allies for Fenrir, allowing certain missions to done with ease. Because of his physical prowess and ability to gain allies, he was considered Fenrir's most important soldier.

0000

After returning from Fenrir, Naegi was forced to return to human society, more specifically school. Despite having seen many people explode and die in front of his very eyes, Naegi's optimistic nature remained the same. As such, he was quickly able to adapt to his situation like a good soldier. Unfortunately, he barley made any friends due to him being semi reclusive.

As one would expect, school was uneventful for the soldier, the only thing interesting that happened was that he rescued a crane from the school's pool.

0000

A few days after he graduated from middle school, Naegi was currently walking home from the candy store. Like most kids his age, Naegi loved a good sweet. However, along the way, he bumped into a man, causing him to drop the bag he was holding. As Naegi began to apologize, he noticed several jewels fly out of the man's bag. In a moment of panic, the man pulled out a gun and aimed it at Naegi, threatening to shoot him if he told anyone about the jewelry he stole. However, what he didn't know was that he was threatening the soon to be ultimate soldier. In two movements, Naegi was able to disarm the robber and knock him out.

After calling the police, Naegi proceeded home and was greeted by his younger sister.

"Hey Makoto, guess what came in the mail!" Komaru stated as she handed Naegi a letter. Opening it, he quickly scanned the letter.

"Dear Makoto Naegi" the letter read. "You have been accepted to Hopes Peak Academy as the ultimate soldier due to your outstanding performance while battling with Fenrir. We hope you accept our invitation. Sincerely, the staff at Hopes Peak."

"Man, getting accepted to such an elite school…" Komaru stated. "You're one talented person. So…are you going to accept?"

"Uh, yea" Naegi stated. "I'd be crazy to not accept this invitation." Hopes Peak was a government funded school with state of the art facilities and the best teachers around. It is an elite school which only accepts those who are the best at what they do and helps them enhance their abilities. The point of the school is to spread hope around the world, training their students to spread the concept around the world.

0000

It was the first day of school and Naegi was currently standing in front of Hopes Peak academy, a nervous expression pasted on his face. Despite being a part of countless battles where his life was endangered, he was still nervous. After all, he had very little experience with socializing, and he was attending a new school. He was also forced to keep his identity to himself, seeing as if people found out he was the ultimate soldier, they would fear him. As such, Naegi decided to keep his title a secret.

"Ok, here I go" Naegi said, taking a deep breath before walking towards the door. However, upon entering the door, he immediately began to feel dizzy, the world spinning around. Before falling unconscious, Naegi had a gut feeling that his life will be altered forever...

0000

"Ugh, what happened?" Naegi asked himself upon regaining consciousness. Lifting his head and glancing around, the young soldier realized that he was in a classroom.

"How did, how did I get here?" He asked himself. "Did someone carry me here?" Shrugging his shoulders, he stood up and began to investigate the room. Checking each of the desks in the classroom and glancing around, he only noticed three things of importance. First off, all the windows were covered by iron plates. Secondly, there was a monitor and a camera in the room. Lastly, there was a small note on the desk he woke up on. Grabbing the note, Naegi began reading.

"Dear Hopes Peak student," it said. "Please gather at the school's main hall by eight o'clock. Starting today, your very lives will be changed forever…"

"Changed forever?" Naegi said, his soldier instincts kicking in. After being knocked unconscious by an unknown force, seeing the windows sealed, and reading the pamphlet, Naegi had the feeling something bad was about to happen. Knowing this, Naegi decided the best course of action would be to make his way to the main hall. He believed it to be risky, but he also felt as if he had no choice. Stuffing the note into his pocket, Naegi exited the room and began his search for the main hall.

0000

As Naegi traveled around the school, he noted how several of the classroom doors were locked. In addition, the staircases leading to the next floor were also blocked, causing Naegi's soldier senses to start tingling.

"Something's definitely not right" Naegi whispered to himself. "Why are all the doors locked? I see no reason for them to be closed." He attempted to pry one of the rooms, the nurses office to be exact, open but was unsuccessful. Giving up, he continued his search for the main hall, eventually finding it. Taking a deep breath, Naegi swung open the door. Upon doing so, he was greeted by the questioning eyes of fourteen other individuals.

"Uh, excuse me, but are you a student here as well" a girl with blue hair asked him as he stepped into the room. Much to his surprise, a giant lock has seemed to be sealing off the door to the outside world. Naegi made a mental note to check that out before answering the girl.

"Y-yea, I am" Naegi responded, a bit nervous. Despite having a title of his own, the thought of being in a room filled with ultimates scared him. Maybe it was because he thought he'd never get accepted to this school?

"You there!" A boy with a white uniform and glowing red eyes shouted, pointing at the soldier. "You were supposed to be here at exactly eight o'clock sharp! It's five past eight. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

"Sorry, I got lost…"

"It seems like everyone is here" a girl dressed in all black commented, causing everyone's attention to turn towards her. "I believe introductions are in order."

"Now's not the fucking time for introducing ourselves" a boy with a leather jacket and a corn shaped hairstyle said. "Right now we need to find the person who knocked us out!"

"Wait, so I wasn't the only one that had happened to?" Naegi asked.

"Yes" a girl with lavender hair and purple clothing responded. "While you were not here, we've all established how each and everyone of us were immediately knocked out cold upon stepping into the building."

"Oh."

"Moving on, seeing as how we barely know one another, I do believe that introductions are in order" the girl in black said with a small smile. "After all, we will be spending the next four years together."

"Agreed. Let the introductions commence!" The boy in white stated. Eventually agreeing with the idea of introducing each other to one another, all the students scattered around.

0000

Starting from the left, the first person Naegi introduced himself to was a massively muscular woman. Upon glancing at her, Naegi had to double check she was a woman, due to her looking like a man.

"Hello, I'm Makoto Naegi" Naegi said, greeting her. The girl nodded at him before speaking.

"I am Sakura Ogami, ultimate martial artist," the girl stated. What she did next surprised Naegi, she began patting down his body.

"Ogami, what are you…?"

"Despite your looks, it seems as if your body is well built. Perhaps I have found a suitable sparring partner," the woman said after patting Naegi down.

"Uh…thanks." Naegi said, getting over his initial shock. Having been to war, even the smallest of touches freaked him out.

0000

"The name's Mondo Owada, ultimate gang leader. Nice to fucking meet you," the boy with the leather jacket said.

"I'm Makoto Naegi," Naegi greeted back. The two stood in silence, both not knowing what to say. For Naegi, it was easy to tell Owada was certainly not a very social person. Giving Owada a small wave, Naegi moved on.

0000

"Sup dude, I'm Leon Kuwata" a boy with red hair introduced himself upon seeing Naegi.

"I'm Makoto Naegi. What's your talent?"

"Ultimate baseball star, but to be honest, I hate baseball."

"You hate baseball?"

"Yea, it's hella boring. I want to become a rockstar instead. How cool is that? I'm one hell of a man, chasing my dreams!"

"I hope you achieve your dream" Naegi said with a genuine smile.

0000

"Heey~ I'm Junko Enoshima, ultimate fashionista! Charmed aren't we?" a girl with two pony tails said after Naegi introduced himself to her. Now, he knew about Enoshima, having seen her on various magazine covers. However, something seemed off about her…

"You look different from your photos," Naegi bluntly stated. The boy didn't mean to be rude, but being a part of a war caused him to lack social interaction with others, causing him to make mistakes like the one he currently made.

"Oh, you mean those things?" Enoshima asked. "Those are all photoshopped. You're kinda making me feel bad."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's fine~" the fashionista said in a singsong voice.

0000

"…"

"…"

After introducing himself to Enoshima, Naegi bumped into the lavender haired girl, causing the two to stare at one another, Naegi out of awkwardness while it seemed the girl was analyzing him. Eventually deciding to break the silence, Naegi spoke up.

"Uh, I'm Makoto Naegi, who are you?"

"Kyoko Kirigiri" the girl bluntly stated.

"…What's your talent?"

"Do you need to know? After all, from what I've observed, you haven't told anyone yours."

"Sorry" Naegi apologized.

"I guess our discussion is over" Kirigiri said before walking away, leaving Naegi to wonder about what the heck just happened.

0000

"My name is Byakuya Togami" a tall boy with blond hair and glasses stated as Naegi walked up to him. Again, Togami was another student the soldier Naegi knew about. He was the ultimate affluent prodigy, son of the wealthy Togami family. The boy was destined for greatness.

"I'm Makoto Naegi" the soldier said, introducing himself. Like with Owada and Kirigiri, the two stood in awkward silence before Togami spoke up.

"Are we done here? I have more important matters to deal with."

"Y-yea. I guess we are" Naegi said, surprised by his rudeness before walking away.

0000

"Sup! The name's Yasuhiro Hagakure, but you can just call me Hiro," a boy with spiky hair, tan skin, and a dirty jacket said after Naegi introduced himself. Judging by his appearance, Naegi knew the boy was older than he is.

"So, wanna grab ourselves a quick bottle of wine after orientation?" Hiro asked.

"Uh, but we're high school kids. Isn't that illegal?" Naegi asked.

"Well I'm actually twenty one" the boy awkwardly answered. "I've gotten left back three times."

"Oh…"

0000

The next person Naegi walked up to was a timid looking girl with yellow hair. Upon introducing himself to her, the girl looked scared for a bit, but began to relax.

"I-I'm Chihiro Fujisaki" the girl stated. "I-I hope we can get along."

"I do as well" Naegi said with a smile.

"…Sorry to ask you, but do I know you from somewhere?" Fujisaki asked him, causing Naegi to shake his head.

"I don't think so, why?"

"I thought I have m-met you from somewhere, sorry."

"It's fine" Naegi said with a small smile.

0000

"Greetings. My name is Celestia Ludenberg" the girl in black said with a small smile. "But you can just call me Celes."

"Is Celestia really your name?" Naegi asked her, wondering why a Japanese girl had an English name.

"Yes it is, though I'd prefer it if you called me Celes" the girl stated again, a bit more forcefully. Thankfully, Naegi took the hint and backed off.

0000

"I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru," the boy in white stated rather stiffly after Naegi introduced himself. "I value the rules and studying. I hope we can enjoy a neat and orderly four years together."

"As do I" Naegi said with a smile. Quickly analyzing him, Naegi could tell he was a very serious individual.

0000

"Sup! I'm Aoi Asahina, but my friends just call me Hina" a girl with tan skin and a slender body said as Naegi walked up to her. Ashaina was another student Naegi knew about. Apparently she was one of the best athletes around, having won awards in all different types of sports.

"I'm Makoto Naegi" Naegi said, causing the girl to write something on her hand. "Um…what are you doing?"

"Don't you know? If you write something on your hand three times, then you'll immediately remember whatever it is that your trying to remember.

"Oh, I guess you learn something new everyday."

0000

"N-not that y-you'll remember anyways, b-but I'm T-Toko Fukawa" a girl with purple braided hair said upon Naegi introducing himself to her.

"Toko Fukawa? Is in the romantic writer?" Naegi said.

"Y-yea" the girl said, looking off to the side. Apparently the girl standing in front of him was able to make fishermen seem attractive to young girls everywhere upon the release of her book.

"A-are you d-done staring at me" Fukawa asked. "Weirdo…"

"Ah, sorry" Naegi said, apologizing.

"It's because I'm u-ugly isn't it?"

"What?"

"I-I knew it! You must think I-I'm some horrifying creature f-from the depths of hell."

"I really don't..."

"Save it! I k-know you do!" Fukawa shouted. Not wanting to worsen the situation, Naegi immediately hightailed it out of that conversation.

"I-I knew it."

0000

"My name is Hifumi Yamada. 'The man who is the beginning and the end.' You can call me either way, I don't mind" a heavy boy with short, black hair said as Naegi approached him.

"I'm Makoto Naegi" Naegi greeted for the thirteenth time this day.

"Do you happen to know anything about 2D?" Yamada asked the short soldier.

"Not really" Naegi answered truthfully. "I've only read some manga with my little sister."

"That is unacceptable!" Yamada shouted. "It seems I'll have to teach you about the wonders of 2D after orientation is finished."

"Ok, sounds fun" Naegi said, knowing full well that the lecture he was going to receive will be a long one.

0000

"I'm Sayaka Maizono" a girl with blue hair stated upon meeting Naegi. Upon seeing her, Naegi immediately recognized her as the ultimate idol. Her group has managed to top nearly every music chart in Japan and even has fans from all over the world. Seeing her up close caused Argo to go into a trance. She was so doll like…

"I'm not a doll silly" Maizono said, snapping Naegi back to reality.

"How did you…"

"I'm a psychic."

"…"

"Just kidding! I have great intuition" Maizono said, causing Naegi to let out a sigh of relief. "Say, do you happen to be from."

"Excuse me, this is introduction time, meaning all other forms of speech are prohibited" Ishimaru explained.

"I guess we could continue our talk later" Maizono said, seemingly disappointed.

"I guess so" Naegi stated.

0000

After Naegi introduced himself to everyone, the sound of a bell echoed around the room.

 **Ding dong dong ding**

"Testing testing, can you hear me? Can you hear me?" A voice shouted from the monitor located in the hallway. "Please make your way to the gymnasium. Orientation will take place there. See you soon!"

"Well, what the fuck are we waiting for?" Owada asked. "Let's go to the gymnasium."

As all the other students left the hallway, Naegi remained still. The voice on the monitor seemed out of place. It was both happy and sinister. Upon hearing the voice, Naegi knew something awful was going to happen. And he wasn't the only one who thought so…


	2. Chapter 2: Intoducing the Despair

**Author's note: Holy crap guys! It's been too long since I've updated this. Sorry guys, but life tends to get in the way sometimes. Before I start the chapter, I'd like to thank all of you who supported this story. More than thirty favorites and forty five follows. Thank you all so much! Now, review and enjoy :-).**

0000

If you introduced Mukuro Ikusaba to any random individual, the first they would remark on is how average she looked. After all, there was nothing special about her. She had average grades, a dull personality, and wasn't anything special in the looks department. At least, that's what her sister Junko Enoshima told her. Unlike Ikusaba, Enoshima was a genius, excelling in all of her classes. In looks, she was considered a perfect being, having become a model at the young age of twelve. Whenever people would talk to her, they would instantly become charmed due to her eccentric personality. As such, Ikusaba felt inferior compared to her twin sister.

The only thing the girl felt she had going for her was she was luckier than the average individual. Whenever Ikusaba would casually take a stroll, she always came home with several thousand yen she would randomly find on the street. When challenged to a game of luck, the girl would always dominate, sometimes not even knowing the rules of the game she was playing.

The two girls lived in a shelter for most of their lives, their real parents dumping them there a year after they were born. While the staff treated them with kindness, the other kids did not. Whenever the caretakers left the kids unattended, the other kids would always attempt to bully the twins. However, Ikusaba would take the full force of the bullying, seeing as she would always protect her younger sister. As such, she has gotten into more fights than she could count. Some fights she won, other fights she lost. Eventually the two girls had enough, running away from the shelter when they were ten. Now on the streets, the two girls had to fend for themselves. Thankfully, Ikusaba's luck helped them in the long run, causing the girl to find enough money on the streets to give her and her sister at least one full meal a day.

Eventually, the two girls were found by a modeling agent, who after looking at Enoshima, took them in. There, Enoshima became a model, Ikusaba tagging along for the ride.

Unknown to the public, Enoshima had a strange obsession with the concept of despair. Claiming to have felt it ever since she was born, she dedicated her life to spreading despair around the world.

Eventually she would get her chance. She and Ikusaba were accepted into Hope's Peak academy as the ultimate fashionista and the ultimate lucky student respectively. There, Enoshima orchestrated several events to bring despair to Hope's Peak, such as ordering each of the student council members to kill one another, having taken their families hostage. Eventually recruiting the daughter of the famous Towa company, Monica Towa, she completely annihilated the world, spreading despair all over. Ikusaba was right by her side the entire time, supporting her sister and doing her bidding. After all, Ikusaba believed herself to be useless. It seemed like the entire world believed it, and she wanted to prove them wrong. That, and the fact she would follow her sister till the end of the world, motivated her to help Enoshima with her plans, even if her sister made her feel useless.

"Mukuro! You're so hopelessly boring. You know that, right?" Enoshima would always ask her. And every time she asked, Mukuro always gave the same answer.

"Yes Junko."

Ikusaba never denied her sister's claims. No one else did, so why should she? However, that all changed when she met him…

Makoto Naegi, ultimate soldier, also known as the boy who believed in her. Granted, she didn't know about his talent until the middle of her first year at Hope's Peak, due to him not sharing it with anyone else. But that was besides the point. The boy had this amazing ability to make friends, befriending all of his classmates in less than a week. In fact, it was him who approached her and asked for companionship. It all happened during the second week of school. During her lunch break, Ikusaba sat on the roof of Hope's Peak. The girl was currently crying, something she usually did when no one was around. Emotionally, Ikusaba was extremely strong, able to put up a good poker face when needed. However, she was human and as such, her emotions would occasionally consume her.

"What's the matter Ikusaba?" Naegi asked her, causing the girl to turn around in surprise. She did not expect anyone else to be up here, the reason why she picked this spot.

"Nothing Naegi. It's fine" Ikusaba responded, hoping that the soldier would leave her alone. However, he didn't.

"Ikusaba, I know you're suffering" Naegi said. Back in the military, Naegi had gained the ability to read people's emotions based on their actions. After all, a good soldier needs to know when someone's about to kill or betray them. "You're trying to hide it, but I can tell it's becoming harder for you to do so. Please, just release some of your stress. I'll listen to anything you say. Even the strongest people have moments of weakness."

Whether it was the tone of voice he used when offering to listen to her problems or if was because of how much she needed a release, but she ended up telling him her entire life story, excluding Enoshima's plans of bringing despair. She didn't expect him to understand her struggles, but he did.

"Listen, I'll be honest. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep. But crying doesn't make you weak. You've lived a difficult life, one that has left permanent scars on you. Whenever you need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you, ok?" Naegi said with a small smile.

"Yea. Thanks" she said as stoic as ever.

Finding herself drawn to the boy, she took up his offer. Every time she needed advice or a release, she went to Naegi's dorm and spoke to him about whatever was bothering her. He in turn would attempt to give her advice or comfort her. The more times she spoke to the boy, the more she found herself drawn to him. It didn't take her long to realize she she was in love with the boy. Unfortunately, he had a girlfriend in the form of Sayaka Maizono, the two having begun dating mid school year, preventing her from acting upon her feelings.

However, now she had a second chance of love in this twisted situation. His memories were gone. All she had to do was befriend him and get to his heart before Maizono did. However, there were several obstacles in her way. First off, the two were currently about to participate in a killing game, where the goal is to kill someone without being caught. While Naegi could certainly handle himself, there was still the chance of him being killed. Ogami was the ultimate martial artist after all, so if she wanted to, she might be able to kill Naegi. Secondly, she was dressed as her twin sister, seeing as Enoshima opted to control the game behind the scenes. As such, the lucky student had her work cut out for her…

0000

"Okay, something's definitely going on here" Naegi stated to himself as he recalled the recent events which took place. First, he was possibly drugged and knocked unconscious. After waking up, he found all the windows sealed with metal plates, as well as some the staircases being sealed off by metal gates. There was also the fact the doorway in the main hall which led to the outside world was also sealed. And then there was that voice. It was so jolly…yet so malicious at the same time. It was a voice of an individual who pretends to be trustworthy so you can open up to them, only to go around telling other people your darkest secrets. It was evil, twisted, manipulative, yet it was heart warming at the same time. Naegi knew that whoever was behind the monitor was certainly someone dangerous.

"It seems that I'm not the only one who thinks so" Kirigiri calmly said, causing Naegi to realize that he wasn't alone. While most of his classmates made their way towards the gymnasium, some stood behind with him, clearly feeling similar emotions about the current situation. "Something's obviously wrong here. It feels like a trap."

"Trap? I think that's overdoing it" Enoshima explained in a cheerful voice. However, it didn't take a genius to know that the only way she was acting happy was to break the negative energy looming around. "Who knows, maybe this is some kind of joke."

Ogami grunted. "I highly doubt that. But for now, let us make our way to the gymnasium. The person operating the speakers is waiting for us."

"But if you think this is some sort of trap, then why bother listening to him?" Enoshima asked.

"If this person has the power to gather all of us here and knock us unconscious, then there's no telling what happens if we disobey him" Kirigiri said before eying an object located next to the front entrance door. Just by looking at it, the boy immediately knew it was a gun, more specifically, some type of automatic turret.

"Yikes! I think it's best if we get going" Maizono said before jogging out of the room. The other four teens looked at one another before following the idol, keeping an eye out for danger.

0000

"Took ya long enough" Kuwata said as the five teens entered the gymnasium. Looking around, Naegi was impressed by the sheer size of the room. Granted, certain universities and colleges had an entire building as a gymnasium, but for a high school, the room was rather big. All the way in the back of the gymnasium was a stage which had a podium on top of it. "I was seriously getting bored waiting for you five to show up."

"I-it's only been two minutes idiot" Fukawa grumpily told the baseball player.

"Never mind them" Togami said with a hint of arrogance in his tone of voice. "Where is the owner of the voice which summoned us here? I don't know about you, but I'd like to get this over with."

"Same here" Kuwata stated. "This place gives me the creeps."

Hagakure shrugged upon hearing his classmates' statements. "Geez, I don't know what you dudes are worried about. I'm pretty sure this is all part of the way this school welcomes new students. At least, that's what my crystal ball is telling me."

"U-um. How accurate are your readings?" Fujisaki curiously asked.

"I'm one hundred percent right thirty percent of the time! Pretty cool am I right?"

"A m-measly thirty percent?" Fukawa asked in disgust. "P-pathetic."

"Hey-" Hagakure began to protest, but he was cut off by a loud echoing sound. Several of the students clenched their ears, attempting to drown out the booming noise. A few seconds later, the noise was replaced with the sound of a voice, the same one which told them to go to the gymnasium.

"Ah, mike check, mike check!" The voice said. "Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"

Ishimaru began to open his mouth, eager to answer the question, but the voice continued.

"I'm pretty sure you can. Anyways, it's time to get this show on the road!"

"See? I told you this is the way they welcome new students here" Hagakure explained.

"No, that's wrong" Naegi stated, causing several of his classmates to look at him. Currently, Naegi's sixth sense was kicking in, the one which activated when he was in danger. After all, a good soldier needs to know when he or she is in danger of dying. Right now, his sixth sense was on the fritz, something which only happened when he was outnumbered by an opposing army.

The boy's sense of danger would be proven right as the podium on the stage began to shake, a stuffed bear jumping out from behind it before taking a seat on the podium. The design of this bear was…unique. The bear's left and right side were two separate colors, it's left side being completely white while it's right side was completely black. In addition, the bear had a lightning bolt shaped eye on its right side, as well as a wicked smile which displayed a full set of razor sharp teeth. Meanwhile, the left side only had a button for an eye. Lastly, the bear's belly button area and snout were unaffected by his color scheme, being fully white. It should also be mentioned that it had an outie for a bellybutton.

"Hello everyone! My name's Monokuma and I'm your headmaster!" The bear said in glee, sending shivers up Naegi's back.

"It's a stuffed bear…" Fujisaki whispered quietly to herself, trying to comprehend the situation. However, Monokuma heard her and instantly got angry.

"I'm no stuffed bear, I'm Monokuma!" The robot shouted at the group of students, causing the programmer to finch and Yamada to shriek in fear.

"GAH! IT SPEAKS!"

"Calm down" Owada told the FanFiction creator. "It's probably just has a speaker inside it. Stop being such a pussy over a child's toy."

"I'm no toy! I'm Monokuma, your headmaster" the 'toy' shouted in anger. "Don't compare me to some crap anyone could build. The technology which powers me would even make NASA jealous. So as such, don't call me it, don't call me toy, call me Monokuma. Seriously, is it that hard to comprehend?"

"Excuse my companions" Ishimaru responded with a respectful tone. "We're not used to interacting with someone like you."

"Of course you bastards aren't" Monokuma said in his gleeful, yet mocking tone. "After all, how often do people meet a bear with as much charm as I?"

"How long is this going to carry on?" Togami asked, a little irritated. "Some of us have other things to attend to."

"Oh. Almost forgot. I guess I got a bit distracted" Monokuma bashfully. "Anyways, welcome to Hope's Peak Academy, a facility which strives to bring out the best of its students and to help them spread the concept of hope wherever they go. However, this year, instead of focusing on preserving hope, Hope's Peak is now dedicating their resources to preserving hope. As such, you'll be living the rest of your lives here. Pretty neat isn't it?" Upon hearing the last part of Monokuma's statement, Naegi's eyes widened. It seemed he was right, the entire situation was a carefully planned trap. The locked door and gun at the front entrance, the iron windows covering the windows, it was meant to keep them in permanently. Why didn't he realize this sooner?

Looking around, he noticed that his entire class was taking the news much harder than he did. Some of the students such as Fujisaki and Asahina seemed ready to burst into tears while others such as Ogami and Owada seemed ready to pounce on the stuffed bear.

"Stay here forever? No way man! I can't do that!" Kuwata exclaimed, taking this situation hard. The poor boy looked like he wanted to throw up.

"That sounds...rather unfortunate" Celestia stated, displaying very little emotion.

"Well, if you want to leave, I have imposed a rule stating a simple task you have to complete to earn your freedom" Monokuma said with a sadistic voice, causing Naegi to stare at the bear with analytic eyes. What exactly was he planning?

"What is this task?" Kirigiri asked as she stared at the bear. Like Naegi, she was trying to see what exactly Monokuma wanted. Waiting a few moments solely for the reason of adding suspense, Monokuma answered Kirigiri. However, what he said was nothing she or anyone else expected.

"It's simple really. All you have to do is commit murder. See? I told you it was simple."

"What?!" Kuwata shouted, his body shaking in fear. He wasn't the only one scared, seeing as nearly everyone was shaking as well. A few of the emotionally weaker students such as Fujisaki and Asahina bursted into tears after processing what Monokuma said. Fukawa was spazzing out. However, Hagakure seemed perfectly calm, which was a surprise to Naegi.

"Haha, you've got us" Hagakure told Monokuma after releasing a chuckle. "You've spooked us, real good I might add. You can end the prank now."

"Prank? What prank? This is all real!" Monokuma responded rather excitedly. He seemed rather eager to start this twisted game of his. "The only way you're getting out of here is if you kill someone. Strangulation, poison, hacking and slashing, electrocution, the method doesn't matter. As long as the act is committed, you're golden."

"Y-you can't do this to us!" Asahina stuttered fearfully.

"I can and I will!" Monokuma said in an authoritative voice, as if to say that the students couldn't defy him. However, one individual didn't quite get the message. Stomping towards the robotic bear, Owada bent down and gave the bear a murderous look.

"Listen bud" Owada snarled. "You've taken this sick joke way too fucking far. I suggest you let us all go or things will get ugly real quick."

"Joke? You mean like your hairstyle?" Monokuma mocked the boy. Looking ready to explode, Owada grabbed Monokuma by the throat and hoisted him high into the air.

"NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!" Owada yelled, preparing a punch, causing Monokuma to squirm in what appeared to be fear.

"Gah! Violence against the headmaster is against school rules!" Monokuma said before his right eye began flashing, beeping sounds emitting from him a few seconds later.

"What? Got nothing to say?" Owada asked in a mocking tone. However, the only response he got was the beeping. To any normal individual, the beeping would have been overlooked as an annoying but harmless noise. However, to someone who's spent part of his life dodging danger, the beeping was a warning sign that something terrible was about to occur.

"It's going to blow" Naegi whispered to himself.

"What?" Maizono asked him, being the only one who was close enough to hear him. However, as soon as she spoke, Naegi immediately darted towards Owada, preventing him from hearing Maizono's question. Yanking the bear from the biker gang leader's hands, he threw Monokuma straight up. As the bear was about to hit the ceiling, he exploded. Thankfully it was a small one, so no one was hurt, just extremely shocked.

"What. The. Fuck! That bastard almost killed me!" Owada shouted in anger after getting over the fact he almost died.

"Well of course I did! You disobeyed the rules" a familiar voice said. Turning their attention to the podium, everyone was surprised to see another Monokuma sitting on the podium. "That was a warning. Next time I won't hesitate to kill you. Do you understand the situation you're in now? You can't defy me. And you certainly cannot leave until I see a dead body. Now, to prevent any further misunderstandings, I'll be giving you all small tablets. These tablets, or Electro-IDs as I call them, are essential to your new school life. Not only do they have the school rules, but they have a map of all the facilities this school offers. Now happy killings!" With that, Monokuma disappeared behind the podium. Looking around, Naegi noticed everyone else was giving one another glances filled with suspicion. Upon seeing these glances, Naegi realized something important. It wasn't the fact they were being trapped in this school nor was it the fact they needed to kill one another that scared them, it was whether anyone was really considering the idea of murder.

"How long are you all just going to stand there and look at one another?" Kirigiri said, snapping everyone back to reality. "Doubting one another isn't going to solve anything."

"You're right" Ishimaru stated. "Instead of doubting one another, we should be working together."

"For now let us check the Electro-IDs" Celestia recommended. "Monokuma did give us these for a reason, did he not?"

"Psh, screw that bear and his rules" Owada growled. "Why the fuck should we do what he wants?"

"Do you want a repeat of what happened last time you broke the rules?" Celestia asked him, causing Owada to growl in anger. "No? Then I'd recommend you read the rules. Otherwise, you'll do something stupid again and get yourself killed."

Turning on the Electro-ID Monokuma gave him, Naegi saw that the tablet displayed his name on the screen as the tablet loaded the start menu. Once it did, four icons were displayed. The first one was an icon of a map, which Naegi guessed displayed the map of the school. The next icon he saw looked like some sort of checklist. Tapping on it, Naegi was surprised to see there was nothing in it, except for lines and lines of question marks. Moving on to the third icon, one which looked like a report card, he saw that it had information about everyone in his class. Glancing through each file, the only thing he was able to learn about his classmates were their heights, weights, chest sizes (when will he ever use this?), and some of their likes and dislikes. Nearly everyone's talents were also displayed, except for his and Kirigiri's. Did the person controlling Monokuma purposely not add their talents to the report cards? Or did he or she not know what exactly the two specialized in?

Keeping a mental note to investigate this problem later, Naegi tapped on the last icon, which looked like a notebook. Tapping the icon displayed the rules, which Naegi immediately began glancing over.

Rule one- students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time. Rule two- "nighttime" is from ten pm to seven am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution. Rule three- sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly. Rule four- with minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion. Rule five- violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras. Rule six- anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered. Rule seven- additional school regulations may be added if necessary.

"Like we're able to leave" Kuwata scoffed, reading over rule number one. "So what now?"

"I suggest we explore the school in groups!" Ishimaru exclaimed, taking the role of leader. Such is to be expected from the ultimate moral compass. "It seems as if we're in a predicament where trust is lacking. As such, a group of four people should suffice to both ensure safety and a sense of security for everyone."

"Yeah. I could get behind that" Enoshima responded. It seemed everyone agreed with her, well, all but one individual.

"I'll be going alone naturally" Togami said as he turned around and began making his way to the exit. However, Owada immediately blocked his path, earning a glare from the affluent prodigy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The gang leader asked the boy. "Didn't you hear what stuffy pants said? Last thing we need is for you to do something shady."

"Move aside plankton" Togami said in a cool and composed voice, only causing Owada to get angrier. While most people would have backed down by now, Togami showed little fear. It seemed he believed himself to be untouchable.

"What the fuck did ya call me?"

"You are just a plankton in an ocean with many of your kind, whose purpose is to float aimlessly and serve as nutrition for those higher on the food chain than yourself."

"Okay punk! That's it!" Owada yelled in anger, preparing a punch. Naegi, seeing this, immediately rushed in between the two, not wanting anymore problems to occur.

"H-hey guys. We shouldn't be fighting. We should be working together."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Owada growled as he stared down at the smaller boy. "Are ya a preacher? Are you trying to preach to me?"

"N-no! I-I'm-"

"Then shut the fuck up!" Owada yelled in rage as he swung at Naegi with a punch thrown at full power, causing Maizono to scream in horror. While the fist was coming towards him at a relatively fast pace, Naegi's eyes allowed him to see the incoming projectile as if it were in slow motion. Moving faster than the gangster, Naegi ducked under the punch, knowing that with the amount of strength behind Owada's punch, he'll wind up falling if he missed. And he did just that, landing on his stomach.

"Listen Owada. I don't want to fight you. Just listen to me and-"

"Fuck you!" Owada yelled, attempting to hit the young man again, only for Naegi to dodge again. As the gangster repeatedly tried to hit the soldier, Naegi saw there was no way he'll listen to him. Owada was in a blind rage. Naegi knew the only way to stop him was to knock him out. Seeing as he had no other option, after dodging another punch, Naegi delivered a swift backwards karate chop at Owada's neck, which effectively knocked him out. Glancing back at his classmates, he noticed most of them giving him shocked looks, Ogami giving him one which signaled that she was impressed with him.

"What?" Naegi asked, wondering why they were giving him such looks. For a soldier, he was quite dense.

"Dude! You just took out the most feared gang leader with one hit" Kuwata explained.

"Listen, we can marvel at Naegi's skills later. Right now we need to focus!" Ishimaru reminded everyone, causing them to realize that they still need to search around the school. Soon, the groups were formed. The first group consisted of Naegi, Maizono, Kirigiri, and Fujisaki. Maizono had asked Naegi to join up with her, the reason being that she wanted to talk to him about something. He had no idea what she wanted to speak about, but he had no objections with her tagging along with him. Kirigiri invited herself to the group, for reasons unknown while Fujisaki personally asked the group if she could tag along for protection, scared that Owada might harm her if he woke up. Granted, Naegi knew that if Owada wanted to harm someone it would be him, but that didn't prevent him from letting the programmer tag along. The next group consisted of Ogami, Enoshima, Togami, Asahina, and Ishimaru. Togami and Enoshima originally wanted to be apart of Naegi's group, Togami stating that it was his 'reward' for knocking Owada out and Enoshima for 'unknown' reasons, but his group was already full, causing them to tag along with Ogami and Ishimaru instead. Seeing as there will be an odd person out with the formation of the last two groups, Asahina asked to join Ogami's group, having bonded with the muscular woman while they were at the main hallway. Ishimaru welcomed her warmly. The last group consisted of Hagakure, Celestia, Yamada, Kuwata, and Fukawa. Both Fukawa and Celestia wanted to work alone, but were forced to be in a group with Hagakure and Yamada by Ishimaru. Both Hagakure and Yamada were the last to be picked for the formation of the groups solely due to the way they presented themselves. Screaming every ten seconds and acting unintelligently were very unattractive qualities in a situation such as this one. Lastly, Kuwata attempted to join Naegi's group, solely because he had a (quite obvious) crush on Maizono. Whether it was one he had for a while or if it developed after looking at her was unknown. Seeing how uncomfortable he made the singer, Naegi suggested he join another group, much to the disappointment of the baseball player. Now that the groups were formed, everyone began to leave the gymnasium, eager to find a way out.

0000

"S-so…where do you guys want to search first?" Fujisaki asked the group after they left the gymnasium. The group was currently in the trophy room, a small hallway which connected the gymnasium to the main hallway. Nothing about the room stuck out, except for the various trophies displayed on the shelfs. Granted, this was a school for only the most talented students, which made the trophies less appealing.

"Well, the map says there are dorms around" Maizono said, glancing at her Electro- ID. "Maybe we should check that out first?"

"While that is a smart idea, the dorms are farthest away from the gymnasium" Kirigiri informed them. "As such, I suggest we search the rooms as we encounter them. This will help us neatly conduct our search."

"It'll also prevent us from running around aimlessly" Naegi added, noticing the point Kirigiri was trying to make. By searching the rooms in the order they appear on the map, it'll ensure that all the rooms will be searched in an orderly fashion. It'll also help prevent them from making any unnecessary trips around the school.

0000

Upon exiting exiting the trophy room, the group noticed that to their left, there were stairs leading to the next floor. However, it was blocked by a metal fence. Ishimaru's group was attempting to tear down the fence, but with little luck despite having Ogami on their side. Next to them was Owada who was still unconscious.

Deciding not to bother them, Naegi and his group made their way down the right path of the hallway, passing by two bathrooms, one for each gender, before eventually stopping in front of a door with white doors. However, like the staircase, the door was blocked with barricade tape. Naegi attempted to tug on the door, but the tape was far too strong for even the soldier to break.

"It seems like Monokuma doesn't want us to access certain rooms" Kirigiri noted. "The question is why?"

"M-maybe the mastermind is using them as hideouts" Fujisaki suggested. "I mean, it must be difficult to control Monokuma in one location."

"That is certainly a possibility. But for now, let us continue exploring" Kirigiri responded. "Right now, our main priority is searching for a way out."

0000

The next room the group encountered was a small shop. Right across the hall was the entrance to the main hallway. Maizono suggested that they search the place for any clues they may have missed, but decided to move along upon seeing Celestia's group, figuring they had the area covered.

Looking around, Maizono eyed the tiny room distastefully. "Man there's a lot of junk here. Would it have killed Monokuma to clean up this place?"

"I think this place is unique" Naegi said as he inspected a full set of iron armor. A second later, he turned his attention towards a small machine titled 'MonoMono Machine.' Quickly inspecting it, Naegi noticed it was one of those machines where you put money inside a dial and a small price comes out. Sadly, it seemed like not only was he broke, but it took a specific type of coin to use it. "How the heck is someone supposed to use this?"

0000

Moving further down the hallway, the group saw a yellow door with a picture of a tape on it. However, the room was inaccessible due to it being locked as well. Moving forward, the group arrived at the end of the hallway, the only way to go being left or right. Glancing to the right, Naegi and friends noticed a giant red door. Sadly, just like most of the other rooms, the door refused to open as Naegi tugged on it with all his might.

"Well, I guess we're going left" Maizono said. Nodding in agreement, Kirigiri led the group down the left side of the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3: Exploration and Ikusaba

**Authors note:** **hey guys, guess which story is back for another chapter? Yes, after four months, this story is now receiving an update. Since it's now summer, expect more frequently updates. Before we start, I'd like to thank you all for the crazy amount of support you've all shown for this story. When I first started writing this and my other story Heaing Wounds, I didn't expect them to grow this big. Anyways, review, enjoy, and don't forget to comment below on who you want Naegi with; Maizono, Ikusaba, and if most of you really want me to, I'll pair Naegi with both. :-).**

00000

 _If you asked Makoto Naegi to describe himself by using only one word, the first thing he would immediately blurt out is 'foolish.'_

 _To him, the word perfectly described how he felt when he first entered Fenrir. Blinded by childish dreams and illusions of being a great war hero, Naegi tricked his parents into taking a family vacation to Europe, knowing the mercenary group Fenrir would be accepting new recruits. Doing intense research about them, Naegi knew exactly where to find the recruiters. While the men accepted him, they did so hesitantly. He did manage to find them while they attempted to stay hidden to the public, but he was just a boy. Introducing him to their general, a six and a half foot tall Japanese man with bulging muscles and sharp red eyes named Haru Tokuda, the man immediately let the young Naegi into the group. However, from there, everything went downhill..._

 _If someone was to become close enough to Naegi, he'd tell them the story about the first time he entered Fenrir's primary base. Escorted by Tokuda and a French man by the name Alex Beaux, it only took a quick glance for Naegi to realize how much he screwed up. Unlike the bases in the war movies, Fenrir's base wasn't very sanitary, with dust and blood marks all over the main hallways. Having taken a peek in the dorm rooms, Naegi saw that he would have to share a bed with two other guys, another sanitary issue. As a mean joke, the five and a half foot Alex showed Naegi the infirmary, where he saw several injured men being treated. One of the men had even lost an arm._

 _After seeing all of this, Naegi desperately wanted to leave. Unfortunately, once you were a member of Fenrir, you were a member until your contract expired. For Naegi, that meant he was stuck here for all of his summer break and for the first month of school._

 _"From now on, you're a soldier," Tokuda told the young boy. "You'll be seeing the real world now. Kiss your innocence goodbye and pray to whatever deity you believe in, 'cause there's a good chance that you'll be killed in action."_

 _Nodding, younger Naegi immediately began a mental prayer in his head, begging to survive the consequences his terrible mistake would bring to him._

0000

"Man, we've checked nearly every room in this school and we still have no idea what's going on," Maizono exclaimed as the group exited from one of the two classrooms on the first floor. Having vigorously searched the rooms for any clues, the group of ultimates found nothing which would prove useful for escaping or identifying the mastermind.

"We did find something," Kirigiri retorted. "We know for sure that whoever's in charge of our kidnappings went to extreme lengths just to make sure we cannot escape."

"I-I don't understand it, w-why us?" Fujisaki asked, fighting the urge to cry. Next to her, Naegi was knocking on the wall closest to them, with his face pressed against the object. The three girls soon turned to him, curious as to what he was doing.

"Naegi, what are you-" Maizono began to ask, only for Naegi to unconsciously mutter something to himself.

"Darn, just as I thought. The outer portion of the wall is covered by an extremely powerful metal, I'm guessing titanium. It seems as if this place was built to be some sort of safe house or something. Otherwise, wouldn't bricks have sufficed?"

"It's impressive that you've gained such knowledge just by simply knocking on a wall," Kirigiri explained, causing Naegi to jolt up before looking at her.

"Oh, you heard that? Sorry…I meant to say that in my head to avoid everyone from worrying more than needed."

"It's fine," Maizono said, giving one of her trademark smiles. "Kirigiri is right though, that's a lot of information you got just from a single tap. I would have just guessed that this building was made of metal and left it as that."

"I must know, how were you able to put together such a theory in such a short amount of time?" Kirigiri asked him. To be honest, the only reason Naegi knew this was due to his base being built with titanium walls as well, allowing it to function as a decent safe house. In addition, he's seen various forts on the field both similar and different than Fenrir's, allowing him to understand some of the basic concepts behind making a suitable fort. However, this was something he didn't wish to let Kirigiri know. To avoid panic, keeping his talent a secret was important. After all, in an environment where murder grants you freedom, no one is going to trust someone who's talent evolves around killing others. To avoid having to explain himself or lie, Naegi decided to bring up another urgent matter.

"Hey, shouldn't we be checking out the dormitory now?" he asked, hoping someone would bite. Kirigiri opened her mouth to say something, probably to change the topic back to Naegi, but Maizono ended up taking the bait, saving Naegi for now.

"Yeah, he's right. We should really get going." Grabbing onto Fujisaki and Naegi's wrists, the idol gently led the two teens towards the dorm room. Following behind, a frown began to form on Kirigiri's face. It was clear she knew Naegi took advantage of having the others around to avoid the subject. She'll have to get her answers later.

0000

"Thank goodness the dorms are not as gloomy as the rest of the school," Fujisaki said once the four entered the dormitory. A quick look around the place caused Naegi to agree with the programmer. While the rest of the first floor had the same lighting and paint color, the dormitory had two differently colored areas. The closest half to the entrance was white. Ironically, this half of the dormitory included only faculties, them being a bathhouse which was currently blocked off to the students, a cafeteria, a garbage disposal room, a normal set of bathrooms, a storage room which was also blocked off, and a staircase leading to the second floor. However, like the other set of stairs outside the dormitory, this one was blocked by a gate, preventing access.

The other half of the room was painted red and included all of the sleeping quarters. Taking a better look at outside of the rooms, Naegi noticed that each door had an eight bit sprite of the room's owner. In addition, there was a card swiper next to each door. Taking out his Electro ID, Naegi swiped his card on the reader next to his room, opening the door.

"H-hey, is it okay if we split up and check our rooms?" Fujisaki asked. "I want to see if everything I've sent to the school was placed in my room."

Fujisaki did raise a good point. For those who chose to dorm in the school, they were asked to send their supplies a week earlier to their rooms. While not everyone chose to dorm, it seemed everyone was given a room. Not to mention Naegi sent some stuff to the school seeing as he had originally planned to dorm.

"Seeing as I also moved some of my processions to the dorm, I believe we should search our rooms individually," Kirigiri stated. "Let's meet up at the cafeteria once everyone's conducted their searches." With everyone in agreement with the plan, the group split up, each heading to their own room.

0000

When Naegi entered his room, he was greeted with a light red room, complete with a bathroom, small trash can, closet, surveillance camera, bureau, and sealed off walls. Starting with the closet first, Naegi checked to see if all of his clothes arrived safely to his room. As expected, he saw the full set of clothes neatly hanged inside. Though he only sent clothes to the school, he then began to search his bureau. Checking them one by one, Naegi found two objects of interest. In his middle drawer resided a tool kit with a small note next to it.

"To the owner of the room," it read. "I have placed specific items in each of your rooms. For the girls, a sewing kit complete with a map of the human body. Just follow the instructions if you wish to use this as a weapon. As for the boys, a toolkit. One swing to the head from most of these tools will be game over for your victim. Happy killing!"

After reading the note, Naegi let out a distasteful scoff before crumbling the paper and tossing it into his trash can. However, the top drawer contained something which took him by supplies. Opening it, he saw a small pistol casually laying inside with a box of bullets next to the weapon. Taking out the gun, Naegi realized this gun as one of his own. It was his first weapon when he joined Fenrir and even though it wasn't the best weapon to use in a battle, he kept it as a good luck charm, carrying it wherever he went during his time as a child soldier. Carved onto the left side of his gun were his initials.

"There's no denying it," Naegi whispered to himself. "This is my pistol."

Putting the gun inside his drawer, he then began to check his bathroom, only for the door to refuse to open. Thankfully, Naegi's experience with dealing with faulty doors at Fenrir was enough to tell him how to open the door. Turning the knob, he held onto it and pushed it upwards before attempting to open the door for the second time. The trick worked beautifully as the door swung open without resistance. Closing the door, Naegi prepared to head back to the cafeteria to see if his group was done with their searches, only to be interrupted by a familiar bear sitting on his bed.

"I see you've managed to open your door," Monokuma said before letting out a little giggle. "Was that trick you used some sort of super secret soldier technique?"

"No," Naegi answered with a more hostile tone than he usually used when he spoke. "And how do you know my talent?"

"Wow, I knew you were dense, but I didn't except it to be this bad," Monokuma mocked, trying to get a reaction from the boy. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't working. "I'm the headmaster of this school. I know a big deal about you all."

"…Cut the crap."

"Huh?"

"You're not our real headmaster," Naegi exclaimed, resisting the urge to shoot Monokuma with his pistol. This bear was seriously annoying. If it weren't for his dumb rules and access to deadly supplies, he would have been dead already. "And neither is the person controlling you. What did you do to the real Headmaster of Hopes Peak?"

"That's a bold claim to make short-trooper," Monokuma responded, giving a nickname to Naegi which the boy hated. "Where's your proof?"

"It's just a gut feeling I have, and my guy is always right," Naegi stated. "And don't call me 'short-trooper.' Is that seriously the best thing you could come up with?"

"Well…let's see if you're right," Monokuma said before disappearing. With the bear gone and with nothing else to do in his room, Naegi made his way to the cafeteria, eager to check in with the rest of his group. Maybe another group was there as well?

0000

Entering the cafeteria, Naegi was impressed by how much effort was made in making this place look nice. In the center of the room, a large oval shaped table resided. To the left of the table were two smaller tables, and to the right was a large window which had a fake view of the outside world painted over it. To the back of the cafeteria was the entrance to the kitchen. However, Naegi's attention was focused on the large table.

Having only expected the members of his group to be inside the cafeteria, Naegi was a bit surprised to see everyone else there as well. Other than Togami and Fukawa, who chose to sit at one of the smaller tables, and Owada who was still unconscious, everyone was currently sitting at the large table. Giving everyone a nod of acknowledgement, Naegi took a seat next to Maizono and asked her when everyone else had arrived.

"Oh, they seemed to have finished their investigations before us," Maizono casually told him. "It turns out that while we were looking at our rooms, the other groups began pouring into the dorms. Since Kirigiri was finished with her room first, she asked for them to wait inside the cafeteria, claiming that we've already cleared this area."

Thanking her, he then turned to face Ishimaru, who was trying to get the attention of everyone by clearing his throat.

"It seems as everyone is here," the ultimate moral compass noted. "Seeing as we are all gathered together, I believe now is the perfect time to share the results of our explorations."

"Dude, shouldn't we wait for Owada to wake up?" Kuwata asked him, earning him a reaction from Ogami, who just shook her head.

"Owada won't be waking up for a long time," Ogami casually said. As she said this, everyone began to glance at Naegi, causing the boy great discomfort.

"Geez, I didn't mean to hit him that hard," Naegi exclaimed with an awkward chuckle. "I only wanted to stop him from attacking Togami."

"Well, it seems as if you accomplished your mission with great success," Enoshima responded in a cheery voice. "Though I've go to admit, I didn't expect you to have the strength to knock out someone nearly a foot taller than you."

"C-can we please get back on topic?" Naegi meekly asked, wanting the attention off him. He was already extremely embarrassed by his mistake. Ishimaru took this chance to begin the discussion of his investigation.

"Well, my group found out that there was a gate blocking off the second floor. Ogami attempted to break the gate, but was unable to do so."

"That is indeed true," Ogami said, a bit of shame hidden in her voice.

"Uh, we already know that," Kuwata said, rolling his eyes. "Got anything else obvious to tell us?"

"Well, the kitchen is stacked with food and will refill itself whenever we finish our current supply," Asahina informed everyone. "At least, that's what Monokuma told me."

"Y-you're seriously trusting that thing?" Fukawa asked.

"At this point, there's nothing else we can do," Kirigiri explained. "For now, we'll just have to take his word for it. Anyways, as for the investigation, my group and I explored primarily the dormitory. Each of us has a dorm room and if you have mailed the school something you wished to take with you to your dorm, it'll be in your room. I found the clothing I've sent set up neatly in my closet."

"Though my group didn't do much, we've discovered that several of the rooms on the first floor are not accessible to us," Celeste added to the conversation.

"So, is that it?" Enoshima asked. "Is that seriously all we've learned?"

"It seems like it," Naegi answered.

"I still don't see why you guys are still so scared," Hagakure questioned. "As I've said before, this is all just some big prank by the staff."

"…I can see why you've been left back three times," Togami stated. "Anyways, are we done here? I've got better things to do."

"Like what?" Kuwata asked. "We're in a school where studying doesn't matter and we can't even go anywhere exciting. What could you possibly need to do?"

"Get away from you all, of course. I'm sick of looking at you."

"Before you leave, I'd like to make a proposition," Celeste said. "Seeing as most facilities will be closed off at night, I suggest we add a little rule of our own. No one is allowed to go out during the night. Granted, this would be one we'd have to enforce ourselves, but with this in place, it'll help us feel safer and adapt to our situation."

"Adapt?" Yamada asked, confused as to what she meant.

"If we wish to stay alive, we must adapt to any situation thrown at us. After all, it's not the strong or smart who survive, it's those who are willing to change with the environment."

"That's messed up," Kuwata exclaimed.

"Such is the way with life."

"Very well then, we'll keep that rule in mind," Ishimaru stated. "For now, you're all dismissed. I'll be sure to tell Owada about our findings."

"So Maizono, I hear you're an idol," Kuwata said as everyone began flooding out the cafeteria. Only Naegi chose to stay. Granted, he should help Maizono, but then again, Kuwata seemed harmless enough. Going to the kitchen, Naegi began to make himself a hamburger. While not the best cook, the soldier had enough knowledge to prepare food, seeing as that was an essential part of being a soldier. However, as he began to flip the patty, his ear twitched, having picked up the sound of someone walking. Turning around, he saw Enoshima casually walking into the kitchen.

"Man, something smells good," she said as she sniffed the air. Turning her attention to Naegi, she gave him a big smile. "Hey Naegi, whatcha making there?"

"Just a burger," he answered. "After all that's happened today, I could really use one. Thankfully there was some ground beef available in the fridge. Want one?"

"Sure. Say, I never took you for the type of person who'd be able to cook."

"It seems like you expect little from me," Naegi stated in a joking matter, causing Enoshima to laugh. With everything that's been going on, Naegi thought it was always good to get in a few laughs. In addition, Enoshima seemed decent enough, so he didn't mind her company. Eventually finishing the burgers, Enoshima and Naegi sat down at one of the smaller tables and began to dig in.

"I've gotta say, this is one good burger," Enoshima exclaimed. "I'd totally eat these more often if it wasn't for me being a model and all."

"Oh yeah, I forgot I'm in the presence of the famous Junko Enoshima," Naegi said. "So how is being a model like?"

"It's fine I guess," Enoshima answered with a shrug. "At first I really enjoyed it, but the more I do it, the more I feel as if I was doing something I wasn't passionate about."

"I'm guessing that it's become so familiar to you now that all the excitement has vanished?"

"Well, it's still there, but not as much as it was when I first started out. I still get invited to a lot of cool events which is always nice."

"I can only imagine," Naegi stated. "It seems like your life's pretty exciting. I'm kind of envious."

"Oh come on, you've probably got some good stories to share," Enoshima said, not realizing the truth behind her statement. Naegi had quite a lot of stories he could share, but instead, he chose to lie about his life, as usual.

"Nope, nothing. This is actually the most eventful thing that's happened to me, unfortunately. But then again, isn't it to everyone? And to be honest, I've spent most of my life sitting around my house with my parents and little sister."

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you've done some other stuff as well. I mean, a person who lives that kind of life shouldn't be able to knock out a gang leader. By the way, Kirigiri mentioned you have amnesia. Is that true?"

"Sadly it is," Naegi lied for the billionth time in his life. "I don't seem to remember why I've been accepted here."

"Don't worry about it, it'll probably come up in the future."

"Yeah," Naegi said before diving into his burger. For the next five minutes, the two students are as if everything was normal. Eventually, Enoshima excused herself.

"Hey, it's been fun and all, but I should probably check out my room," she told him. "Let's do this again sometime, okay?"

"Sure," Naegi said as he continued eating. Giving him a small wave, Enoshima left the cafeteria and did a little fist pump. It seemed that 'operation get close to Naegi' was working. She was so happy that she could break out into dance. However, she avoided doing so, seeing how awkward that could get. All she had to do now was maintain conversation with her, so that the two would soon become friends. From there, Enoshima hoped they could become more…


	4. Chapter 4: Maizono's Turn

**Author's note: IMPOSSIBLE! Two chapters in one week? What sort of witchcraft is this? Yes everyone, it is I, Fire Slash with a brand new chapter of Soldier of Hope. Since I have summer off, expect a new chapter every week for each of my stories. The only reason I've updated this earlier was because I was in a writing mood, and this happens to be my favorite story of the two Danganronpa stories I write. Before I begin, I urgently recommend to those who enjoyed Persona 4 to check out my newest story, "New Game Plus: Persona 4." If you like this story, Healing Wounds, or both stories, you'll love my Persona fanfic. Oh, and a poll has been added to my profile, allowing you to pick who Naegi ends up with in this story and who Yuu ends up with in my Persona 4 story. Now, review, enjoy, and don't forget to vote on the poll :-).**

00000

 _If you asked Makoto Naegi to share the most terrifying moment of his life, he would immediately be reminded of his first battle during his time in Fenrir._

 _After a week of training, General Tokuda deemed Naegi worthy of entering combat, despite the boy's insecurities about his combat prowess. After all, he was the youngest member of Fenrir which put him at a disadvantage. In addition, a week's worth of training wasn't nearly enough time for a soldier to receive before entering combat. When he told Tokuda about his troubles, the mercenary brushed him off, claiming that he was worrying too much._

 _"Kid, stop actin' like a pansy" Tokuda told him. "You're the most skilled fighter outa' everyone here, somehow. And don't even get me started about your shooting skills. When you first shot a bullet at the target during practice, I thought you were a professional hitman. You're a natural. Trust me, you'll be fine."_

 _While Naegi still had his doubts, Tokuda did have a point. In hand to hand combat, Naegi was considered unbeatable by his comrades. With guns, he was practically Deadshot, having never missed a single target no matter what type of gun he used._

 _Remembering this helped keep him calm as Fenrir marched towards their destination, an abandoned city in Middle East Asia. Well, they didn't exactly march all the way, having divided their forces on different airplanes which snuck them near their destination. Which country he fought in, Naegi couldn't remember, his fear of dying having blocked out some of the events which occurred._

 _Setting up camp in an area hidden in the outskirts of the city, Tokuda reminded everyone about their given mission. Apparently, the government controlling the country where the city resided in hired Fenrir to exterminate a group of terrorists who had decided to make base there. Because of their residence, the country's once low death rate has skyrocketed, even after all of the civilians abandoned their homes. Though the government has been fighting the terrorists themselves, they hired Fenrir for extra assistance to speed up the process of demolishing the unwanted invaders._

 _Sadly, once the fighting started, Naegi's confidence immediately vanished. Though Fenrir originally planned an ambush, the terrorists immediately foiled the plan, causing various gunshots to be fired once Naegi entered the city. Hiding behind a building and armed with a rifle and a pistol, the soon to be ultimate soldier began plucking the enemies one by one, all of his bullets connecting with his targets. While this would normally raise one's confidence, Naegi's fear was too strong, suppressing any other emotions which attempted to be noticed._

 _"Shit!" Turning his head, Naegi saw the source of the voice, Alex, get filled with a bunch of bullet holes. Having caused him to peak his head from his hiding spot, Naegi began to notice that Fenrir was losing the battle. While they had superior weaponry and skill, the enemy had the numbers to completely nullify Fenrir's advantage. Because of this, the terrorists were advancing closer and closer to Naegi's hiding spot, some of them close enough to fire at Naegi if they wished. Knowing this and knowing Tokuda wouldn't let him flee, Naegi decided to take a new approach to his sniping. Maneuvering himself to the back of the building, Naegi broke through one of the windows and entered the apartment. Climbing to the roof, Naegi positioned himself in a way which would allow him to effectively shoot enemies while being able to take cover from retaliation strikes._

 _'Well, here goes nothing,' Naegi thought to himself before firing a bullet at a terrorist who was about to kill one of his comrades. Taking the role of support, Naegi fired at any terrorist close enough to be kill a member from Fenrir. Surprisingly, this was enough to cripple the terrorists enough to allow Fenrir to push the enemy backwards. Observing how the opposing army failed to defend themselves made it clear to Naegi that the enemy forces were offensively built. Though they had the ability to sweep through opposing forces, once a weak spot has been exploited, they had no way of defending themselves. While the war raged, Tokuda secretly observed the young boy, noticing how well he was faring._

 _Hearing someone shouting in a foreign language, Naegi glanced in the general direction the voice was coming from and saw a tall man who wore a fancier form of the uniforms the terrorists wore. It seemed whatever he shouted was enough to allow the enemies to stand their ground, preventing Fenrir from progressing any further into the city._

 _'They changed tactics? That has to be their leader,' Naegi noted to himself mentally, turning his rifle towards the man. 'After all, after he spoke, the enemy's tactics completely changed. It's still of an offensive nature, but whatever he told them seems to be working.'_

 _Marking the man with his rifle's scope, he fired a bullet straight towards the man, swiftly ending his life before he could give any other orders. A few seconds afterwards, Fenrir managed to find an opening in the opposing army. Without their general guiding them, the opposing force immediately buckled, allowed them to be easily defeated by Fenrir._

 _Watching the last of the terrorists go down, Tokuda let out a boisterous laugh before glancing at Naegi who had made his way to the mercenary group._

 _"Damn kid, I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were THIS good," Tokuda stated before slapping Naegi on the back, causing the boy to wince in pain. "You sure showed them who's boss."_

 _"I didn't do much," the young boy sheepishly stated, only to get a loud laugh in response._

 _"I'll say otherwise. It's 'cause of you and your shooting skills that we were able to win. I've never seen anyone who's able to snipe multiple enemies as quickly as you did. If you keep this up, I might as well call you the ultimate soldier or our secret weapon." Turning to the rest of his men who had watched the exchange in quiet, he began addressing them. "As for the rest of you, you outa' be ashamed of yourselves. It took only a kid to accomplish something you all failed at. I mean, how the hell did you guys even let them dent us? They were fighting like barbarians for damn's sake! You all could clearly learn a thing or two from this boy."_

0000

*Ding-Dong*

With a loud groan, Naegi opened his eyes due to the sound of a doorbell ringing. Looking at the room, Naegi let a small sign escape his lips. Upon falling asleep, Naegi secretly wished this was all a dream, that he would wake up in his parent's house and it would still be the first day of Hopes Peak. Unfortunately, as Naegi already knew, what happened yesterday was real, meaning he had better be on guard at all times.

*Ding-Dong*

"In a second!" the boy shouted as he flew off his bed. Quickly putting on his signature hoody and other clothes, Naegi took out the pistol from the drawer and loaded it up with four bullets. While Naegi was sure no one would try to kill him yet, one thing he learned in Fenrir was to expect the unexpected. Creeping towards the door, he checked the little peephole on his door and saw Ishimaru standing in front of his door.

"Ishimaru, what are you doing here?" Naegi asked as he pocketed his gun before slowly opening the door. Once it was fully opened, Ishimaru spoke.

"Good morning Naegi, I hope that you're doing well. I'm here to invite you to breakfast. Since we'll be living with each other for quite some time, I thought everyone should get breakfast together."

"Uh, is anyone else coming?"

"Yep. I've invited everyone to breakfast and they all said they'll be joining, though some of them got angry at me for disturbing their sleep," Ishimaru said, rubbing the back of his head upon saying the last part. "Well, Togami won't be joining us, but everyone else will be there."

"Figures," Naegi stated, rolling his eyes. Togami seemed to be the type who wouldn't hang around with those of a lower social class. "Just give me a few seconds and I'll meet you all over there."

"Wonderful! Now if you excuse me, I should be making my way to the cafeteria myself,"Ishimaru exclaimed before making his way to his spoken destination. Closing the door, Naegi adjusted his clothing and placed his gun back into the drawer before making his way to the cafeteria.

0000

Arriving in the cafeteria, Naegi looked around and saw everyone else socializing. It warmed his heart seeing everyone was still acting civil to one another despite the recent events. Sitting down next to Maizono, Naegi opened his mouth to greet her when he heard a loud cough come from the other individual sitting next to him. Glancing to his right, he saw that Owada was sitting next to him, giving him a small glare.

'Oh shit!' Naegi thought to himself before addressing the elephant in the room. "Listen Owada, about the other day…"

"Save it," the gang leader responded in a stern voice. "There's no need to apologize."

"Huh?" A shocked Naegi asked. To be honest, Owada seemed like the type to hold grudges. He never expected this from him.

"Yeah, you hit me, but you did it for a good reason," Owada explained. "I'll admit, I did overreact back there. So for now, we're cool. However, next time you do something like that, I won't be as forgiving."

"Thanks," Naegi said, dismissing the threat. Though Owada was easily stronger than almost everyone else in this school, he was no match for a trained soldier in physical combat. However, Naegi didn't completely ignore the treat. If Owada managed to surprise him somehow, the gang leader could easily kill him, either with a weapon or by breaking his neck. Being the good soldier he is, Naegi made sure to keep an open eye out for Owada.

"Ahem! I have a quick announcement to make," Ishimaru stated, causing everyone to look at him. "As you already know, I've gathered you all here to have breakfast together."

"W-we know stupid," Fukawa growled in irritation. "Y-you've disturbed m-my sleep just for this."

"I apologize for that. Anyways, seeing as we all wish to escape, I suggest that we hold a meeting here every morning after the morning announcement."

"That's fine with me," Naegi stated, admiring how well Ishimaru was taking charge. The man clearly had the qualities of a leader, being the perfect combination of smart and strong. As for what he meant by the morning announcements, Monokuma always held two separate announcements each day, one in the morning and one at night. The purpose of them was to signal the beginning and the end of the school's nighttime hours. Though Naegi attempted to sleep through them, Monokuma made sure to set the speakers to their maximum level of volume, making it hard to do so. In fact, if it weren't for the morning announcement today, Naegi would have probably slept through the ringing of his doorbell.

"Same here," Asahina stated, vigorously nodding her head. "This will help us work together, and by working together will we be able to find a way out of here."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Celeste asked the swimmer. "From what I remember, we've spent a good amount of time yesterday searching the school and we came out empty handed."

"Yeah, but there's a chance we could have missed something…"

"That's highly unlikely. Excuse me for what I'm about to say but we're never going to get out of here."

"The hell do you mean?" Enoshima asked her. "Of course we're going to get out of here. After all, I can't stay in this damn place any longer."

"That line of thinking is what's going to get you killed."

"Wha-"

"As I said before, the only way any of us are going to make it out of her alive is if we simply adapt to our situation. You all might as well begin to do so, or else you may become a future killer or victim. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that I'd rather not see a corpse."

"No one here would even dream of killing someone else!" Maizono stated, causing Naegi to shake his head.

"I'm sorry Maizono, but how can you be so sure of that?" Naegi asked her before turning to everyone else. "Listen, everyone here has a desire to get out of here right? Well, the longer we're trapped here, the more that desire continues to grow into something more maniacal. The only way to prevent desire from turning into madness is to do what Celeste said, adapt. If you refuse to do so, no matter how nice you are, you have the potential of becoming a murderer. Trust me, I've seen people with hearts of gold change into something wicked just because of their desire to live. However, does that mean we give up all hope of leaving? No, not at all. As Ishimaru suggested, we should keep working together to find a way out of here. I guess what I'm trying to say is to keep holding onto the hope that we'll get out of here, but at the same time, understand that it won't be a quick process. Get comfortable with your new lives, but don't abandon your old ones. We will get out of here, but it won't be for awhile."

For a while, everyone stood silent, taking some time to comprehend Naegi's little speech. Eventually, the silence was broken by a certain lavender haired girl.

"Naegi's right," Kirigiri said. "If we wish to get out, we must suppress our desire for immediate escape."

"My, my," Celeste stated with a small giggle. "I didn't expect you to be able to produce a speech at such a large scale as that one."

"It's nothing really," Naegi explained. Back at Fenrir, he was always the one giving pep talks to his comrades before the start of a battle. Though Naegi thought very little of it, Tokuda had always praised his ability to give such powerful speeches. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell his classmates about this, so he made up a lie to answer their curiosity. "I guess me constantly having to give my friends pep talks has helped me become a decent speaker."

"With that being said, I think it's safe to end today's meeting," Ishimaru said in response. "I don't think there's anything else to be said. Correct me if I'm wrong."

Taking everyone's silence as an answer, Ishimaru continued. "Anyways, when you guys have the time to do so, I'd recommend searching around the school around a bit more. However, since today's our second day here, there's no urgency in doing so. After all, I'm planning a group search tomorrow after our breakfast meeting. But if you do choose to conduct your own search, just keep in mind what Naegi has told us. With that, today's meeting has ended. You may all eat in peace."

With the meeting closing up, everyone began to dig into their previously untouched breakfast. Upon finishing their meals, the gang dispersed, everyone heading their own separate ways. Again, Naegi found himself to be the last one in the cafeteria. Throwing out his plate, the soldier began walking towards his room, hoping that he could think of a way to pass time. He could conduct a search, but he didn't feel like it, having just explored all the rooms yesterday. Sitting on his bed, Naegi decided to take a small nap, only for the doorbell to ring a few seconds later…

0000

When Maizono first saw Naegi, she knew there was something special about him. It was in middle school when she first met the boy from afar. Having been introduced to her class a month after school started, Maizono could still remember everything he did during his introduction, from which hand he used to scratch his head to the way he carefully analyzed his classmates. She remembered when he sat down next to her and gave her a small smile before returning to his stoic self. She even remembered how desperately she wanted to initiate a conversation with him that day, only refusing to do so because of how strict her teacher was. Not doing so was one of her biggest regrets to this day.

Unfortunately, Naegi's seat was moved to the back of the classroom the next day, far away from the idol. Her only means of initiating a conversation with the boy was now gone. One may point out that she could have easily talked to him after school, but it wasn't that simple. There were two major obstacles which prevented her from even waving at him.

First off, she was an idol. Wanting to become one ever since she was young, Maizono worked her way to the top, only to realize that being an idol was not what she originally thought it would be like. From the amount of concerts she had to perform at, to doing some rather shady stuff just to stay with management, the ride was both hell and time consuming. It was impossible to talk to the boy out of school due to this. The only reason Maizono stayed an idol was due to how much fun performing at concerts with her friends was and because of her fans, who have expressed their lives have changed for the better since Maizono's group formed. If it weren't for those two aspects of her career, she would have quit immediately.

The other major obstacle which blocked her from interacting with Naegi was her 'friends.' No, not her band mates who she considered her sisters, but her school friends. To be honest, Maizono never saw most of the people she hung out with as her friends. She knew the reason they stuck by her was only because she was both famous and beautiful, not for who she really was. They used her friendship as a means of obtaining popularity, causing the blue haired girl to avoid getting close to them. The only reason she hug around them was to maintain her image. It wouldn't look good for Maizono's group if their leader was seen casually blowing off others.

Looking back, Maizono realized how stupid she was. Instead of having false friends, she could have had a real one. From the day Naegi saved the crane at her school's pool, to the various amounts of times he fought bullies to protect his classmates who hardly knew him, Maizono knew Naegi was a generally good person.

Upon seeing him for the first time since they graduated, Maizono was proud to say he was the same person she knew in middle school. From the way he defended Togami from a well deserved smackdown to the few words the two shared while exploring the school together, it was undeniable. Despite such horrible circumstances, Maizono was prepared to do something she should have done long ago, take the initiative and speak to the boy who had captured her interest. Brushing off a flirting Kuwata with a passive aggressive tone, Maizono headed straight to Naegi's room, so she may redeem herself from her past mistakes. There was no way she was letting Naegi slip out of her life again without talking to him.

0000

Approaching the door in a similar fashion to the way he did so earlier today, with his gun drawn, Naegi glanced through his door's peephole and was surprised to see Maizono was the one who rang the doorbell. Slipping his gun into his pocket, Naegi slowly opened the door, preparing himself in the event the idol turns rogue and attacks him. Thankfully, that never happened.

"Maizono? What are you doing here?" Naegi asked, shocked that an idol would want something from a nobody like him.

"Hey Naegi, I was wondering if you had any free time today. If not, then I certainly understand."

"I have free time," the soldier stated, earning a smile from the idol. "Is there anything you need from me?"

"Well…since you're offering, I do want to hang out with him," Maizono answered in a teasing matter.

"Uh, sure. Anywhere specific you wish to go?"

"Nope. Your room is fine," Maizono said before Naegi allowed her to enter. The two teens now seated on Naegi's bed, Maizono initiated the conversation.

"Hey Naegi, do you remember me?" Maizono asked hopefully, only to receive a confused face from the soldier.

"Remember? If you're asking if I know who you are than of course I do. You're Sayaka Maizono, famous idol."

"Not that silly. I mean do you remember me from middle school?"

"Of course I do," Naegi stated, much to Maizono's delight. "Why wouldn't I? After all, you were the most popular girl in the entire school. Hell, I'm surprised someone as great as you remembered this ordinary boy."

"Why wouldn't I remember you?" The idol sweetly asked him. "Not only were we in the same class together, but I've been dying to talk to you since I first saw you."

"What for? I haven't done anything attention worthy…"

"Don't be so modest," Maizono said before giving the soldier a gentle push, not without taking note of how strong his arms felt. "From saving that crane to fighting off bullies, how could I have not want to talk to you. Speaking of which, where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Well, I took judo and kendo ever since I was young," Naegi stated, not mentioning how most of his fighting skills came from Fenrir. 'She doesn't need to know that.'

"Know what?" Maizono asked, almost scaring the crap out of her friend.

"Did you read my mind?" Naegi asked, secretly scared. If she could, then she could easily unmask his identity as the ultimate soldier.

"Of course I did," Maizono joked before revealing the truth. "In all honesty, I just have very good intuition."

"I'll say," Naegi said before releasing a sign of air. "That's some crazy intuition you have. This is the second time you've correctly guessed what I was thinking."

"Ha ha, yeah. Backtracking a bit, what is it that you don't want me to know?"

"Listen, it's not something I'm comfortable talking about yet," Naegi stated. Though him saying this does throw some light on his true identity, this was the only way to prevent Maizono from learning about his past. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," Maizono said, nodding her head in understanding. "Everyone's got something they don't want to share. I'd know…"

"Hey, how about we talk about something else," Naegi said, hoping to brighten up the mood. "You did ask me to hang out and I'd rather you leave on a happy note."

"Sure, that'd be nice," Maizono said before the two began a new conversation. For the rest of the day, the two schoolmates played catch-up, both sharing stories of exciting events which occurred during their time apart. While the conversations continued, Naegi began to realize that Maizono was clearly hiding her fair share of information from him. The soldier didn't call her out whenever she did this, due to the fact she respected his privacy. Naegi thought it was only fair if he did the same.

Eventually, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the morning hours.

"Well, I'd better go to my room now," Maizono said as she got off of Naegi's bed. "Hey, this was nice, let's do this again sometime, okay?"

"Of course," Naegi told her. "Well, goodnight."

"Night," was the last thing Maizono said to Naegi before leaving his room. Upon entering her room, a large smile formed on the idol's face. She was glad Naegi was the person she believed he was, a kindhearted individual. Now she had two goals in her mind, to become his friend and to escape from this place.


	5. Chapter 5: Ikusaba gets Bold

**Author's note: hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to the fifth chapter of Soldier of Hope. Before we move on, I have a few announcements to make:**

 **1\. Thanks to all who've stuck with this story and have shown support in one way or another. I really appreciate it. I love writing this story and it makes me glad that I'm entertaining others.**

 **2\. After uploading a chapter for Healing Wounds and my Persona fanfic, I plan on posting the first chapter of my newest project- Hajime Hinata: Ultimate Hero, which will be the last new story I'll write bunt I finish one of my current fics. A preview has been posted on the bottom of this chapter.**

 **3\. I'm holding a contest for all of you artists out there. You see, I need a new cover image for my story (the one I have isn't even from the first game) and I don't want to use anyone's pictures without permission. Also, I can't draw for the life of me. The only thing I ask is that Soldier Naegi is displayed in some way and you PM me the link to your submission. The winner will be announced before the end of August and I will give you credit in the summary.**

 **4\. Don't forget to vote on the poll I set up for who you want Naegi to romance. The mini Harem is winning so far, so if you want a different result, then please vote.**

 **Now review and enjoy :-).**

000

 _If you asked Makoto Naegi if he had ever felt true fear, he would immediately answer with a simple yes._

 _As mentioned before, Naegi joined Fenrir upon his free will, but was forced to stay when he suddenly changed his mind. Due to this predicament, he was often unwillingly put in combat despite his wishes to never hold a gun after his first battle. Unfortunately, he wasn't in control of his life while in the army. It belonged to Tokuda, whatever the man said was to be done unless Naegi wanted to die. This was why Naegi found himself in another battle against an army from the same terrorist organization who served as his opponents in his first battle._

 _If Naegi was scared during his first fight, he was downright terrified during this one. For the majority of the battle, Fenrir was getting the snot kicked out of them. Two factors played into this; the fact Takunda wasn't leading the team and the huge numbers advantage the terrorists had against the mercenaries. Takunda had taken another group of troops to another location, leaving behind his brother to command the attack Naegi took part of. Sadly, it seemed the skills required for leading an army weren't passed from brother to brother. Takunda's brother ordered an all out attack at a small group of terrorists who were occupying Fenrir's destination, only to be surprised when more men popped out of the seemingly abandoned buildings and started shooting at them, despite the trap being so obvious. Now, with half of Naegi's comrades dead, the boy was yet again backed against a building, attempting to pluck off the enemies before they got too close._

 _Despite the unfavorable scenery, one may observe not all was bad. For example, Naegi was better equipped for this fight than he was for the last scuffle. Along with his rifle and pistol, the young boy had several grenades at his disposal and a short sword. He also had two allied soldiers next to him, which increased his chances of survivability. Sadly, even with these bonuses, his survival didn't seem likely._

 _"Damn, why the hell did we get stuck with the defective brother?" One of the men next to Naegi asked. Unfortunately, Naegi remembered very little about the two men, only that the man currently speaking had dark skin while the other seemed to be Hispanic._

 _"The fuck if I know? The only reason he even got the job is since he's related to Takunda."_

 _"Well thanks to that idiot, I'll never be able to make it back home. Shit, all I wanted to do was earn money for my family. I thought the death rate in combat is three percent."_

 _Next to them, Naegi continued his shooting, but despite this, the enemies continued to advance closer and closer to the three males. He tried to block out the mens' conversation, but it was hard to do so when they were shouting about how they desperately missed their families. It's amazing how much a situation like this could make even the strongest person cry in fear._

 _As they continued speaking, Naegi thought back to his own family. His mother, father, and little sister must be worried sick about him. They were probably desperately searching for him, not knowing that their little boy was fighting a battle which appeared unbeatable._

 _"Hey kid, are you alright?" One of the men asked Naegi, noticing how the boy's breathing increased rapidly. He didn't even notice which of the men had asked, only focusing on how much he possibly hurt his family just to achieve a stupid dream._

 _As the gunshots fired by the opposing army continued to get closer, Naegi had made up his mind. He was going to get back to his family no matter what. No longer would he cower behind the building with the other two soldiers, he was going to face death head on._

 _Pulling out a grenade, Naegi yanked the safety pin off the weapon and threw it as hard as he could at the enemies. Managing to hit a large portion of the opposing army, the last sight Naegi saw before blanking out were the terrorists' attempts at recovering from the devastating blow..._

 _When Naegi recovered, he found himself at Fenrir's infirmary. It was there he learned why he was still alive. After blanking out, Naegi's body functioned on its own, the ultimate soldier having gone into some sort of trance. As the terrorists attempted to counter attack, Naegi fired upon them at superhuman speeds, mowing down a good chunk of his opponents before they could find their footing. Unfortunately for the enemies, when they prepared to counter attack, Naegi managed to avoid their attacks, ducking behind a piece of rubble at the blink of an eye. As he prepared to shoot another batch of enemies, he noticed one of the about to toss a grenade at him as a form of retaliation. Sadly for him, upon pulling the safety pin off, Naegi fired a bullet at him, causing him to drop the bomb. Acting on adrenaline, Naegi took off the strap where he kept all his grenades and tossed it towards the explosion, not without setting off one of the grenades. Another explosion occurred, this one much larger than the others. Surprisingly, there were still some survivors, but that didn't last long. Running at them at such speeds that would put Usain Bolt to shame, Naegi pulled out his short sword and hacked down all who opposed him. Even though there were some terrorists still strong enough to fight back, Naegi easily managed to overpower them physically, ensuring that they would never do harm again._

 _From then on, Naegi kept holding onto the hope of seeing his family again. After all, it allowed him to take out an army almost completely by himself. And this wouldn't be the only time the ultimate soldier would enter such a trance. In fact, while he couldn't activate it without being under enormous pressure, the trance allowed for some very valuable victories to be earned._

 _"Damn kid, you keep surprising me," Takunda told the boy as he left the infirmary. "You might as well be Fenrir's ultimate hope, the reason why we'll win this war. Because of you, many soldiers here will be able to see their loved ones again. You should feel mighty proud of yourself."_

0000

*ding dong dong ding*

"Good morning everyone!" An obnoxious voice shouted from the school's intercom. Letting out a small groan, Naegi sat up from his bed and glanced at the monitor in his room. As he suspected, the voice's origins came from Monokuma. Other than Togami's arrogant tone, Monokuma's voice was easily the most annoying thing he's ever heard. Heck, Naegi even thought the sound of utensils scratching on a glass plate sounded better than them. "It is now seven am, which means daytime is about to begin! Let's greet another beautiful day!~"

Putting on some clothing, including his signature hoodie, Naegi prepared to exit his room when he heard his doorbell ring. Quickly grabbing his pistol, Naegi slowly made his way to the door before checking the peephole. Seeing Maizono's smiling face, Naegi tensed up for a quick moment before letting the idol into his room.

"Hey Naegi," Maizono greeted, giving him one of her signature smiles. "I'm guessing that you're about to head to the cafeteria now, right?"

"Yeah, I am," Naegi said, relaxing himself. Though Maizono was a fantastic person to hang out with, her intuition caused Naegi to be on edge when around her. For someone who's talent had nothing to do with having a strong intuition, Maizono's was probably sharper than that of the ultimate soldier himself. This surprised him at first, seeing as his intuition was trained to above average levels at Fenrir. Naegi knew she suspected he was hiding something from her, making the idol the second person he had to be wary of in the school. First place went to Kirigiri, who made it obvious that she had her eye on him. "Why? Is there something you need?"

"W-well," Maizono began, a small blush appearing on her face. Being the oblivious doofus we all know and love, Naegi didn't see the change in his friend. "Remember how I said that we should hang out more often? Well, I've decided that I want to become your assistant. That way we can get some quality time together while trying to find a way out."

"Assistant? What for?"

"It's clear that you have a clear sense as to what's going on here. Out of everyone here, you'll probably be discovering brand new clues about our situation others would have missed. You've proved that much when we were exploring Hopes Peak for the first time. However, every Sherlock needs a Watson. As such, I've decided that I'm going to help you from now on. At least, that's if you let me."

"If you're willing to help me, then who am I to refuse?" Naegi told her. "With you around, I'll feel better when the time comes to go exploring again. However, I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you. I'm just an ordinary person."

"Naegi, you keep saying that but we both know that's a lie," Maizono said with a smile, causing him to silently gulp. Maizono just confirmed that she knew the soldier was hiding something from her. However, his powers of perception were powerful enough to know there was no hostility emitting from her. It's as if she didn't really care what he was hiding, as long as it didn't come to bite her in the back. Grabbing his hands with hers, Maizono continued to smile at him as she spoke. "You're definitely someone special. As long as I've got you on my side, I'm sure that I'll get out of here alive."

"I promise to do my best," Naegi told her, his cheeks becoming a shade of pink. That girl surly knew how to make someone feel motivated. Eventually, the idol released the soldier's hands as the two friends made their way to the cafeteria, making small talk as they walked.

0000

"Ah, Naegi and Maizono! Good morning to you both!" Ishimaru loudly shouted as the two students entered the cafeteria.

"Good morning to you as well," Maizono politely responded to the greeting before taking her seat, Naegi sitting next to her after greeting Ishimaru as well. Turning his attention to the other two residents present in the cafeteria, Naegi greeted them after getting comfortable.

"Good morning Ogami and Asahina. I hope you both slept well."

"Sup Naegi!" Asahina greeted, her bubbly personality not faltering in the slightest. Naegi's only known her for a few days, but he had to admit, the girl was strong. While everyone else appeared uneasy with one another, Asahina didn't display such characteristics. It was obvious she didn't want to be here, but she continued to tough out the storm like a trooper. "Yeah, I slept well. Though we're kinda trapped here and all, I couldn't help but notice how comfortable the beds are. It's like lying on a giant marshmallow. Isn't that right Ogami?"

"Indeed," the ultimate martial artist said with a small nod. "They were quite satisfactory."

"I second that notion," Ishimaru stated, inserting himself into the conversation as Kuwata entered the cafeteria, followed by Enoshima shortly after.

"Yo! What's hanging?" Kuwata asked before taking a seat next to Maizono, much to her discomfort. Kuwata was a nice guy and all, but he didn't know when to quit. It was clear the idol wasn't interested in him. Everyone knew it and Maizono didn't even bother to hide her disinterest.

As Kuwata continued to strike out with Maizono, Enoshima immediately claimed the second seat next to Naegi. Giving the ultimate soldier a smile, the fashionista began stretching her back.

"Morning Naegi!" Enoshima exclaimed with a large smile, causing Naegi to realize that both of his current friends seemed to have some form of signature smile. For Maizono, hers was a very small but powerful one. As for Enoshima, the model went for a more wild smile. Turning to the girl, Naegi gave her a small wave.

"Hey Enoshima. You hanging in there?"

"Yeah, but ugh, I'm so bored! There's nothing to do here! Man, I want to get out of here." Winking at him, Enoshima leaned slightly towards the boy. "Mind entertaining me later on today?"

"S-sure," Naegi answered, clearly shocked by her sudden motion. Enoshima was a lot more forward and confident than Naegi thought. "I'll hang out with you later."

"Really? Thanks!" Enoshima exclaimed as the cafeteria began to fill up with the rest of the students. Eventually, everyone but Togami showed up, prompting Ishimaru to take the lead.

"I hereby call this breakfast meeting into session!" The moral compass shouted, grabbing the attention of his fellow classmates. "Today's meeting will be a short one, seeing as we've only been here for almost two days. I wish to conduct a search today, reexamining all the rooms we've already covered. It's the only thing we can do at this moment, but I believe we might be able to find something which can aid us with our desire for freedom!"

"Wait, I have a question?" Asahina asked, raising her hand. Seeing Ishimaru nod at her, the swimmer continued. "Since we've been gone for a while now, shouldn't the police be searching for us as we speak? I mean, a bunch of kids going missing clearly calls for authoritative action..."

"Really? You're relying on the police?" A certain bear asked, causing everyone to turn towards him. How long has he been there? "The guys who's only purpose is to get toppled by the main villain to show how badass they are? You must already be desperate. Desperate enough to kill I'd say…"

"Shut up and get out of here," Naegi said, glaring at the bear. Unfortunately, this only made him laugh.

"My, my! What's up your butt today? Someone seems a bit cranky."

"Could you blame me? I'm trapped inside a school with you, anyone would go insane."

"Upupupu! You're such a tsundere Naegi. I bet underneath that tough exterior of yours is the true Naegi, the one who's secretly got the hots for me. Soon, you'll be writing smut about us. I'll be waiting for a copy. It'll probably be garbage, but whatever, smut is smut. I don't discriminate."

"…The day that I feel any romantic feelings towards you is the day I give everyone in this school permission to kill me. I won't struggle."

"Foolishness aside, what do you want?" Kirigiri asked the bear, her signature glare pointed at him.

"What was I here for?" Monokuma asked himself, having forgotten his original goal while harassing Naegi. "Oh, that's right! I'm here to remind you that if you really want to leave, all you have to do is kill someone~"

"Like hell we will!" Kuwata angrily shouted at the bear. "It's going to take more than a shitty kidnapping to make us turn on one another."

"He's right! There's no way I'm going to kill innocent people," Yamada added, causing everyone to give both Kuwata and Yamada nods of agreement.

"Fine then, suit yourselves. Leave your freedom to the hands of the law, I don't care. But let's see how long you'll last before eventually going insane," Monokuma said before disappearing like he always did. Everyone sat in silence until Ishimaru spoke up.

"W-well then, once you're all finished, don't forget to search around for clues. I'm going to go on ahead. If you'll excuse me." With that, Ishimaru left the cafeteria, everyone else flooding out shortly afterwards. Tagging along with Maizono as promised, Naegi was about to leave the cafeteria with the idol, only for Enoshima to call out to him.

"Hey Naegi! Can I come along with you?" The model asked. "To be honest, I'd feel more comfortable tagging along with someone else rather than going by myself. And out of everyone here, I've hung out with you the most, meaning I at least trust you a bit. So can I?"

"Sure, if that's okay with you Maizono," Naegi said, turning his head towards the idol. The two girls stared at one another for a few seconds before Maizono responded.

"Sure, I don't see why not," the idol responded, causing Enoshima to join team Naegi. As the trio walked through the hallways together, Naegi couldn't help but sense slight hostility between the two girls as they stared each other down and walked besides him. In the end, he shrugged his thoughts away. After all, what would have even caused the hostility to occur in the first place? It certainly wasn't there when they went exploring with Kirigiri and Fujisaki.

0000

As the disguised Ikusaba walked with Naegi and Maizono, she couldn't help but smile. Her plan seemed to be working and pretending to be her sister played a big part in her success. Having taken acting lessons from Enoshima, Ikusaba was able to perfectly mimic her sister's personality, at least the one she displayed to the public. With this alter ego at play, she could casually flirt with Naegi without worry. She honestly had no idea why this was, maybe it was because a model was stereotyped to be perky or because she felt more comfortable in her sister's skin than her own, but she wasn't complaining. As long as had the chance of getting close to Naegi, she would do anything. Well, almost anything. Her sister was still the most important person in her life. Surprisingly though, the real Enoshima gave the lucky student permission to pursue the soldier. Originally skeptical as to why the model would allow her to do something filled with hope, the reasoning behind Enoshima's kindness was soon revealed. The younger twin was more than confident that Ikusaba would fail, which would cause the lucky student despair beyond belief. If Naegi ever found out Ikusaba's true identity, then surly he would hate her. But for some reason, Ikusaba highly doubted that would be the case. Naegi wasn't that type of person, was he?

Though her true identity would be a challenge in her quest, the lucky student still had an obstacle in front of her she had to conquer before her identity would even prove to be a problem. Maizono's already grown fond of Naegi, which Ikusaba didn't like. Sadly, she knew this was going to happen. Back when they truly met for the first time at Hopes Peak, the idol and soldier instantly connected, allowing a relationship to blossom. Thankfully, it seemed as if this time would be different. Naegi didn't seem as entranced by the idol as he originally was when he first met her. Perhaps it was because Ikusaba managed to interact with him first? She knew the soldier didn't have any friends before high school, which caused him to bond quickly with the first person who displayed true kindness to him. This happened to originally be Maizono, but Ikusaba now stole that place from her. Mind wiping was surly amazing.

As for Maizono, the idol already seemed interested in Naegi. During the small stare down the two had, Maizono's face seemed sweet, but the lucky student saw hints of procession and jealousy hidden in her eyes as the two looked at one another. Not the one to back away from a challenge, Ikusaba sent her a glance of her own, essentially telling the idol to back off.

As the trio searched the school for clues Ikusaba knew didn't exist, the girl continued to plan what the soldier and her were going to do later. She didn't want to mess this up. After all, who knew when either of them would get killed. In an environment such as this one, there was no way everyone was going to make it out alive...

0000

"Hey Naegi, I hope you're not getting the wrong idea about this," Enoshima said as Naegi served her a burger. After the investigation, Maizono went back to her room, having gotten tired from all the exploring they did. It was unfortunate no clues were found, but that was to be expected. As such, the teens weren't discouraged by their lack of findings. After the exploration, Enoshima decided to hold Naegi to his promise he made her in the morning and chose to get something to eat. Originally the model planned to be the one to cook, but Naegi being the gentleman he is took over instead so the girl didn't have to do anything. It just proved to her his kindness, something she adored from him. However, to make sure his character was as pure as she thought even with some of his memories erased, Enoshima chose to test him.

"About what?" The soldier asked before devouring the burger in front of him.

"I mean, I hope you're not expecting anything about hanging out with a model such as myself. Gotta keep my virtue safe, ya know?"

"Huh? O-oh! I'm not expecting anything at all," Naegi stuttered, having dropped his food on the table in surprise. "I hang out with you because I enjoy to do so, and because you're a nice person."

Enoshima's cheeks turned red as Naegi complimented her. "Jeez, you're making me embarrassed. But anyways, I figured as much from you. Looking at you, I kinda get an 'omega vibe' from you. But even the tamest person can become a wild animal so I thought I'd tell you anyways."

"Hey, I can guarantee that you have nothing to worry about when you're with me," Naegi assured her. "Let me guess... most of the guys who try to hang out with you tend to be creeps, right? It's probably because you're a model and all."

"Woah, You get it? You *do* get it! You totally get me!" Enoshima exclaimed, keeping up the appearance that she's actually her sister. Giving him a mischievous smile, the girl decided to have some fun with the soldier. "Listen, maybe I can introduce you to my friends sometimes?"

"Come again?" Naegi asked, unable to believe that a famous model was offering to set him up with one of her friends.

"So, what's your type? I mean, you're super passive, but at the same time, you're a fighter. Hmm…this might be a bit tricky. Now if you were only passive I'd totally set you up with an aggressive girl, someone who'd go after you and won't give up. If you were only a fighter on the other hand, I'd set you up with a passive girl, one who'd be able to let your soft side come loose. Wait…I got it! Clearly you need someone that has a blend of both, someone willing to chase you but at the same time would have boundaries."

"I-I think I'm-" Naegi attempted to interrupt her, only for the model to continue speaking.

"I hope you're as excited as I am! I'm going to look through my contacts to see if I know the perfect girl for you. Ta-ta!" Leaving right after she said this, Naegi stared at the same spot with a blank expression, clearly shocked as to what just happened.

"What on Earth was that all about?" He muttered to himself. While he appreciated Enoshima's offer and enthusiasm on hooking him up with a girl, the soldier didn't really feel ready to have one. It would be nice to have a partner, but would they really accept him? A man who's capable of killing someone with a swift movement? Someone who's fought with a mercenary group at a young age, someone who's actually KILLED?

"I highly doubt it," Naegi told himself before exiting the cafeteria as well. "But if they're somehow able to like me while knowing of my past, then who am I to say no? That person would truly be someone special."

* * *

 **Author's note 2: as explained above, here's the preview of my newest fic; Hajime Hinata: Ultimate Hero. A different preview will be posted on Healing Wounds as well, right after the new chapter that's currently in development.**

"What the hell am I doing?" Hinata asked himself as he glanced down the roof of the building he was standing on, keeping an eye out for any trouble which may occur in the nearby area. To someone passing by however, it would look as if Hinata intended to cause the trouble himself. He was wearing suspicious looking clothes, more specifically; his socks, sneakers, hoodie, and sweatpants were all black. While there was nothing truly wrong with his attire, an individual would most likely mistake him as a burglar, seeing as he also had his hoodie on and was wearing a black bandanna mask. Nearly everyone would say a masked individual walking around at night would be up to no good.

"This isn't me, I'm no hero." Scanning the neighborhood again, Hinata found it harder to believe that he was actually going to play superhero. It wasn't that he didn't have the capability to be a vigilante that bothered him, for he was the only super powered person on Earth. At least, the man who gave the boy his powers told him so.

For those who are confused, Hinata wouldn't blame you. After all, he felt the same way when he first met the man- no! He was more like a diety, having abilities which could easily allow him to conquer the Earth if he so wished. But back on topic, the red being had appeared in Hinata's dream one time, taking the form of a tall, male adolescent with piercing red eyes and long grey hair. Using the dream as a means of communication, the supernatural man told him that he was giving him powers because "he was bored and wished to see what a human would do with even a small amount of power." While Hinata couldn't fly or shoot lasers out of his eyes, he still had some nifty gifts. He was stronger than any human, being able to lift a car with his bare hands. He was also fast, having the ability to see what an individual was going to do before they execute the move. He had higher than average endurance, allowing him to take blows that would have knocked an adult out with little effect. His most devastating ability however was his increased senses and brain functionality. With this increase, Hinata was able to become fully aware of his surroundings, noticing something most people wouldn't, and he had the ability to learn something in less than a day that would've taken an individual months to grasp.

The reason he doubted himself was because of the way he's lived his life. Before gaining these powers from the red eyed boy, Hinata was an ordinary person with nothing to separate him from the average person. The only thing even closely remarkable about the young man was his desire to help others which was only rivaled by a few. Sadly, because of his normalcy he would find himself unable to do much for the people he wished to save. He had average strength and intelligence, causing most situations to be out of his control. Hinata honestly hated this about himself. He desperately longed for the day he would develop a talent so great even Hopes Peak would acknowledge him.

"Somebody help me!" A woman shouted, causing Hinata's head to whip to the general direction of the voice. Looking down an alleyway, he saw a woman being held at gun point. Hinata quickly began thinking of a way to alert the authorities before remembering why he was outside. No longer was he only Hajime Hinata, a normal high school student with the uniqueness of a pidgin. No, he was no also Izuru, defender of Hope and the innocent. With this sudden realization, Hinata knew what he was to do next.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this, I must be very stupid. Well, here it goes!" With a quick stretch of his back, Hinata leaped off the building, ready to reprehend the robber who chose to terrorize an innocent civilian.


	6. Chapter 6: Despair is Now in Session

**Author's Note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here with a new chapter of Soldier of Hope. Just a warning, this chapter is smaller than the others due to the fact the next chapter will fully introduce the first motive, the first death, and the first investigation. As such, this chapter only serves to transition from one part of the story to the other. Also, because of the events occurring in the next two chapters, the second one being the first class trial, it may take me a while to update this story, so please be patient. **

**Oh, and the cover image contest is still going on. You can also still vote on which pair you want to see (mini harem between the three characters is an option as well), but time is running short. I plan on introducing the winning pair once the second class trial ends. So far, Ikusaba is dominating the comments section while the harem option is winning the poll I set up (which has more voters than the comments section). If you want to see a different pair, make sure to vote.**

 **Now, review and enjoy :-).**

0000

 _If you asked Naegi for advice on what to do when life becomes too hard to handle, he'd tell you to hold onto hope and never abandon it. Though most people wouldn't expect a soldier to hold onto such a belief for long, Naegi would argue otherwise. He'd explain that the only reason he was still alive was because he continued to cling onto hope, the hope of seeing his family again._

 _When he was sent into combat for the first and second time during his time in Fenrir, he had originally believed that he wouldn't make it out alive. However, the hope he hung onto gave him a reason to fight, motivating him to do everything in his power to survive each battle._

 _In a way, the hope he desperately wished to maintain ended up saving several of his allies from certain death. The fact he knew his own family was worried sick about him caused Naegi to realize that most of his allies had families as well who were waiting for them to return home._

 _Upon this realization, Naegi began training to be the best possible soldier he could become. The passion which drove him was that he refused to have his family and the other soldiers' families suffer any longer than they already were. If he could prevent as much death on his side as possible, he'd be making innocent people smile, something he always enjoyed doing even before entering the war._

 _"Damn kid, you're more dedicated to training than I am," Tokuda told the young soldier one day as Naegi repeatedly struck a punching bag with extreme power and precision. "But you should really rest up more. We don't want you tired during battle."_

 _"I'm fine," Naegi responded, his eyes not leaving his target. Despite what he said, the soldier was clearly exhausted, having large bags under his eyes. Sweat was pouring down his face as well and the boy also appeared to be running out of breath. "I get enough rest as it is. If I don't keep training, more lives will be lost."_

 _"It seems like you're holding onto hope, good. It's really all us soldiers can do at this point. Without a driving factor to fight, an army is worthless. They'll be too disheartened to even hold a gun properly. Just don't let your hope turn into an illusion, otherwise you'll end up in pain when you're inevitably unable to achieve your goals. I guess what I'm saying is to shoot for the stars, but don't overdo it, understand?"_

 _"Yes sir," Naegi said, continuing to beat up his punching bag. However, a few seconds later, he threw a roundhouse kick at it, causing the chains which were attached to it to snap. Looking at the bag which was now across the room, Naegi let out a small laugh. "I think that's enough for today."_

 _"Ya think?" Tokuda asked before letting out a boisterous laugh himself_.

0000

"Regarding yesterday's exploration, did any of you discover something new?" Ishimaru asked once everyone gathered at the cafeteria the next day. Well, Togami wasn't there, but the heir had clearly displayed his refusal to work with his classmates multiple times, making his absence nothing to worry about…yet.

"Nah man," Kuwata answered. "I checked out the classrooms again and all I found were some extra sets of tool kits and sewing kits inside the desks."

"It seems Monokuma really wants us to commit murder," Kirigiri stated, rubbing her chin with her gloved hand. "Providing us with extra weapons…looks like he's trying to make it so the blackened doesn't get caught."

"But what's the point?" Enoshima questioned. "If someone killed someone else, then wouldn't they no longer be here? After all, to escape from here, all we have to do is kill someone."

"…No, that's wrong," Naegi said, surprising some of his classmates. "Rule six states that anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered. Based on the wording, it seems that some sort of trial or guessing game will take place if someone is murdered."

Owada gave the soldier a startled look. "No fucking way..."

"He's right you know," Celeste added with a small nod. "I'm surprised that none of you've realized this earlier. It was painfully obvious, I guess I overestimated the intellect of the majority of you..."

"Hey! That's kinda mean," Hagakure argued, causing Kuwata to roll his eyes.

"Dude, I'm no Albert Einstein, but even I know you're the last person who should be complaining. You've been held back THREE times for crying out loud!"

"Enough!" Ishimaru yelled before Hagakure was able to defend himself, causing everyone to look at him. "Arguing amongst us will only hinder our ability to find a way out of here. Now, going back on topic, did any of you find anything else during your searches?"

"W-well, I'm not sure if this is even remotely important, but I found this," Fujisaki said as she held up a brown coin with Monokuma's head inscribed onto both its sides. "M-Monokuma told me that there were a lot of these hidden around the school and they can be used to get something s-sort of prize out of the MonoMono Machine. I had two other coins which I spent, but I only got some rations and a 'hand bra.'

"Hand…bra?" Naegi asked, not believing what he was hearing. "What on Earth is that?"

"A-a bra shaped like hands…"

"I never expected miss Fujisaki to be interested in such things," Yamada said in a perverted tone, the smile on his face suggesting he was currently having some lewd thoughts.

"I-I'm not!" Fujisaki shouted in a soft tone, desperate to defend her innocent nature. "The prizes are all randomized."

"If that's the case, then it seems we'll need quite a lot of those coins," Ishimaru stated. "Though unlikely, there might be an item inside the machine that can be used to help us escape from here. Seeing as we've already explored the areas open to us twice, it's best if we move on and attempt something else. After all, there's a possibility that the MonoMono Machine has a key to the upper floors hidden inside. I highly doubt it will be that easy, but it's best we leave no stone unturned."

"If you're really that desperate to find a way out, I won't stop you from searching," Celeste said. "But do not expect me to help. As I've said already, the only way we're going to survive is if we adapt to our current situation, which I plan on doing. However, I will still attend these meetings seeing as I might be able to learn something new about our situation. I'll admit, I'm quite curious as to who was able to take over an entire school, a famous one no less."

"I question that as well," Asahina agreed. "And why haven't the police saved us by now."

"Perhaps whoever we're facing possesses a lot of power, allowing them to essentially control the police and the media as well," Kirigiri answered. "Though how were they able silence our parents? After all, they should have noticed our disappearance by now..."

"For now, it seems like we're going to have rely on each other," Naegi said. However, if one were to pay close attention to his tone, they would notice that he sounded unsure. This was because he didn't fully trust his companions yet. While most of them seemed like good people, Naegi knew it only took one small thing to change a person. After all, he's experienced this during his time in Fenrir when normally carefree individuals come back from their first battle a new person, one more serious and alert. It even happened to him. "So let's do our best to get out of here."

0000

"Do you really think we'll be able to leave?" Maizono asked Naegi. The two were currently in the soldier's room, the idol having asked him to keep her company.

"I think we will," Naegi told her. "It's only a matter of time before we find whoever's behind our kidnapping. They can't hide forever."

"…You're right," Maizono said, giving Naegi her signature smile, the one he's used to seeing everyday along with Enoshima's cheeky grins. "But I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit afraid..."

"Of what? The mastermind or the thought of never leaving?"

"Both, and the chance of someone committing murder. I trust you, but not everyone else. I didn't know these people before coming here like I did with you, and I have yet to hang out with any of them. After all, they could be planning something."

Naegi gave her a small shrug. "That's fair I guess. I want to believe that nobody would even think of murder, but even I know it could happen. And now that I think about it, I've only spent time with you, Enoshima, and Fujisaki individually."

"Wait, when did you spend time with them?" Maizono asked. If it wasn't for her ability to mask her emotions, Naegi would have noticed how jealous the idol became upon hearing he was spending time with other girls, alone.

"Well, I haven't actually hanged out with Fujisaki yet, but she seems completely harmless. As for Enoshima, we goofed off after the investigation yesterday," Naegi answered truthfully, not noticing Maizono's eyes slightly narrow out of anger. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, uh, I was just trying to get your opinion about some of our classmates," Maizono lied. "You know, just in case I get bored and you're busy."

"If that's the case, then I'd recommend them both. Enoshima and Fujisaki are good people. Now that I think about it, you could hang out with Kuwata. I'm pretty sure he's interested in you."

Maizono shook her head. "Eh, I'll pass. He's only interested in me because of my looks. Trust me, I've seen many people like him before. It's all part of being an idol, sadly."

"Looks can be deceiving," Naegi said, giving her a grin.

"I know, but my intuition tells me that I'm correct."

"Well, if that's the case I don't think I can argue any further," Naegi told her, knowing the true strength of her intuition. The accuracy of it was actually kind of freaky.

"Hey, I resent that!" Maizono playfully shouted at him, causing the soldier to perk up.

"No way… did I say that out loud?"

"Nope! I'm psychic," Maizono responded, causing the boy to look at her in awe. "Just kidding, my intuition is just that great."

"Really? How could I have fallen for that? We were literally just talking about your intuition just a second ago," Naegi muttered before the two friends started laughing at Naegi's naivety.

0000

'Why am I jealous of Enoshima?' Maizono mentally asked herself. 'Is it because I don't like how close she is to Naegi?'

It's only been a few days since she and Naegi officially interacted and the girl has already began to become possessive over him. At first, Maizono questioned her actions, but she eventually found the answers she was looking for. After all, she was a lot smarter than people believed her to be.

She had a crush on him.

She didn't know when her feelings began to develop, perhaps when it was when he defended someone like Togami from Owada? Perhaps it was because he treated her like an ordinary person and not an idol? It could also be because he made her feel safe in an environment such as this…

Either way, Maizono knew Naegi's life was his to live. As such, she wouldn't stop him from hanging around other girls, though she'll still get jealous. After all, there were quite a lot of pretty girls in the school. Fujisaki was absolutely adorable, Asahina had the perfect figure, Enoshima was a model, even Kirigiri had the whole 'mysterious and confident girl' vibe going on. She couldn't blame the boy if he chose to pursue any of the other girls over her.

However, even without the presence of the other girls, Maizono would have to overcome several obstacles before she could date him. The biggest problem was that they would have to hide their relationship from the public, seeing as it was frowned upon if an idol begins to date someone.

There was also the fact she only knew him for a few days. He could change, after all. Though he appears to be a shy and ordinary boy, he was able to take out Owada with little effort. She also knew he was hiding something not only from her, but the entire class as well. Because of this, she decided to wait a bit, to make sure the Naegi she's been palling around with was the real Naegi before making a move on him.

In addition, Maizono knew she had a crush on Naegi, another reason she hasn't asked him out yet. After all, they come and go like the wind. In fact, the crush probably formed just because he was the only familiar face inside the school. She'll probably lose interest in his as the two continued to hang out…

'Yeah, it's just a stupid crush,' Maizono told herself. 'For now, I should focus on leaving the school. I need to get out after all. Otherwise everything I've been working for will all be for nothing. I can't let that happen! I just can't…'

0000

"You know, it's been four days and I have yet to see a corpse," Monokuma told everyone as they ate breakfast the next day. The students originally were gathered to host another breakfast meeting, only for Monokuma to interrupt their conversation. Then again, it wasn't like the meeting being held was actually being progressive today, seeing as no one had anything to report. Togami was there though, sitting at one of the small tables, making it clear to everyone that he wasn't part of the group. "I mean, I've locked you inside a building with little to do. At least one of you should have snapped by now. You're freaking TEENAGERS for crying out loud! After toddlers, you're the age group that gets bored after seconds of starting something."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're a nuisance?" Naegi asked. Monokuma attempted to o answer, only for Ishimaru to speak up instead.

"You have underestimated us! We'll never kill for a petty reason such as boredom!"

"Hm…you're right!" Monokuma said. "I have the perfect environment, but what good is that when no one has a reason to kill?"

Kirigiri shot the bear a glare. "What are you getting at?"

"Fear no more, for I have a way of getting this show back onto its intended path!" Monokuma replied. "In the rec-room, the room with the yellow door by the way, is a box filled with several 'gifts' I've decided to give you. I suggest you take a good look at them, especially if you are worried about someone outside the school. Ta-ta!"

After finishing, Monokuma magically disappeared, leaving everyone behind with a dreadful silence.

"How does he do that?" Naegi asked himself as his friends shot each other worried glances.

"So…what should we do now?" Asahina asked. "It's possible this is a trap…"

"Yeah, but we need to check out the dumb bear's 'gift,' Owada informed her, putting a lot of emphasis on the word 'gift.' "He did say that we should check it out if we're worried about someone not here. It might be a clue."

Turning to Naegi, the gang leader gave him a obviously fake smile. "Yo Naegi! Check it out for us, would ya?"

Most people would expect Naegi to have questioned Owada why he among all people had to look for what could be a obvious trap, but he didn't. If anything, Naegi was the best at dealing with traps, having made and defused loads of them.

"Sure," Naegi said before getting up from his seat. Before he could move, Maizono stood up as well.

"Wait, it's better for two people to go. Let me come with you," the girl said. "If anything happens, the other person could warn everyone else."

"Good idea, I'm willing to let you tag along," Naegi agreed before the two friends left the cafeteria. If only they knew what was coming next…


	7. Chapter 7: Shattered Will

**Author's Note:** **hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Soldier of Hope. Before we begin, I want to say a few things. First off, thanks to everyone who's shown support for the story so far. 100+ followers and favorites is certainly something I've never expected. You're all amazing. Secondly, as you can tell, I'm back in school, meaning that chapters will be produced more slowly. Expect at least one chapter every two months. Lastly, pairings are still up for suggestions. Please vote either through the poll I set up or through the comments section. Now review and enjoy :-).**

0000

 _If there was one thing Naegi didn't tolerate, it was when people messed with his family. If you pread false rumors about them, made fun of them in any way, or if you (God forbid) hurt them, Naegi will go after you. His mother, father, and little sister were his life, something he realized when he was still in Fenrir._

 _After returning from the mercenary group, Naegi strived to become the best son he could be. When his parents asked him to do something, he did it without complaining. To make his parents proud, he made sure he did well in school, none of his grades slipping below a B. In fact, the day after he came back home, he made breakfast for his entire family. When his parents asked why he's decided to do so much for them, the boy only had this to say:_

 _"Why I do this? It's because I love and appreciate you guys. While I was gone, I've realized that I've been taking all of you for granted. I want to pay you back for everything you've done for me."_

 _When it came to his sister Komaru, he made sure they had a strong relationship with one another. Don't get him wrong, the two siblings were close before Naegi joined Fenrir, but they had often argued over the most mundane stuff like who had control over the TV like most siblings did. Upon coming back from the war, Naegi did his best to reduce the amount of arguments which occurred between the two. Whenever both siblings would watch TV at the same time, Naegi gave her full control, recording the episodes he missed from his favorite shows so he may watch them at a later point. When Komaru needed help with her homework, he stopped doing his to help._

 _Granted, he did have his limits when it came to his kindness to his younger sibling, such as the fact he would never do Komaru's homework for her. However, if someone was picking on her, Naegi will kick your ass. He didn't care who you were, no one picks on his sister._

 _Those who've attended Sixth Black Root Middle School with the Naegi siblings were the first to learn this lesson..._

 _You see, Komaru had a dream of becoming a manga artist, but the stuff she drew wasn't what most people expected for a girl her age. Most of her manga was based around the idea of superpowered beings, something mostly boys read. As such, when it was discovered what the girl drew during her free time, several people began to make fun of her for her interests, shrouded by the gender stereotypes which existed in the world. Though it was only a small group who targeted her, seeing as most people didn't care about her hobbies, it was still enough to damage her self esteem a bit. The Naegi siblings werren't the most confident people around..._

 _One day, Naegi was walking towards her locker when he heard a few boys laughing. Normally, he would have avoided the scene, as it could just be a few kids goofing off, but what followed next triggered him. A loud SMACK echoed through the halls, Komaru's voice following suit. The girl was chewing the group out, calling them insecure about their own selves that they resort to pivking on someone different and that there was nothing wrong with her, that she wasn't the only girl interested in "boyish" activities._

 _Unfortunatly, if you've been to middle school before, then you know that stereotypical bullies hate it when someone attacks their pride. As such, the leader of the group began telling Komaru that she was going to regret those words. While the girl could ahndle herself, she was no match for a group composed of athletes. As the leader was about to prepare a punch, an arm slammed into the wall, seperating the two. When the bullies looked for the owner of the arm, they were suprised to see that it belonged to Makoto Naegi, the same one who would occasionally get picked on himself for his seemingly lack of skills._

 _Looking at them with souless eyes, Naegi gave them a simple warning. "Fuck off."_

 _"Tch, why should I?" the leader bully asked mockingly. With Naegi's smaller size, it was easy to see why the bully underestimate his opponent._

 _The two boys stared each other for a few minutes, neither willing to back down. However, upon hearing Naegi take in a larger than normal breath of air did the bully make the worst mistake of his life. Pulling back his fist, he attempted to hit Naegi in the stomach. While an incoming punch from a bully is enough to scare most individuals, to Naegi, a boy who has seen his own allies beheaded infront of him, a little punch wasn't going to make him flinch. It's especially true when the punch was't even a dangerous one. In the blink of an eye, the young Naegi effortlessly caught his opponent's fist with his right hand._

 _"You act big and tough, and yet you can't even throw a proper punch," Naegi said as the bully attempted to remove his fist from Naegi's iron grip. As expected, all his struggling was in vain. "When you punch, the knuckle should be the first part to hit your opponent. Also, try not to make your target so obvious. Even someone who's lived under a rock their entire lives would have seen that fist coming towards my stomach."_

 _A quick second later, Naegi delivered a punch to the bully's nose at what seemed to be superhuman speed. A loud CRACK was released from the shattered bone before the boy fell to the ground, unconsious._

 _Looking at the bully's posse, who were now quivering in fear upon seeing their boss go down so swiftly, Naegi gave them a challenging glare as several teachers began to enter the scene to break up the fight, not aware the fight was now over._

 _"I'm only going to say this once; if I catch anyone picking on my little sister, I will make sure that once I'm done with you, your own parents won't recognize you. Make sure the entire school knows this."_

 _That was the last thing the soon to be ultimate soldier said before he was dragged away to the principle's office._

 _Later, when Komaru asked for an explanation as to why he defended her, Naegi gave her a genuine smile before speaking._

 _"Why wouldn't I? We're family. When I was gone, the thought of how much pain I've inflicted on you gave me the strength to survive. The fact you've been such a great family to me filled me with hope. If it wasn't for you guys, I would be dead."_

 _After thanking her brother, Komaru then began pestering him about where he was during the summer and what he meant that 'he would be dead' all while Naegi continued to dodge the question, not wanting to tell her that he literally became a child soldier. You know, normal sibling things..._

0000

Rage... that was the only thing going through Naegi's mind at the moment. He desperately wanted to lash out on Monokuma and strangle the bear with all his might, but he knew doing so wouldn't accomplish anything. After all, there were more Monokumas around the school somewhere, not to mention that anyone who physically harms the 'headmaster' will get executed. Sure Naegi has the strength advantage over the mechanical bear, but Monokuma had the numbers advantage. He also had free access to every room in the school as well, meaning all the bear had to do was stab Naegi in his sleep. Even a soldier needs sleep sometimes.

"...This isn't real. This can't be real," Naegi muttered to himself upon ejecting a disk out of one of the DVD players in the rec-room. When he and Maizono first arrived at the room, the fist thing they saw other than the DVD players was a box filled with CD's. Upon noticing this, Naegi offered to check out the contents in the box while the idol went to inform the rest of their classmates about their discovery. Though the idol was hesitant at first, she ended up complying with the request anyways. That was when he popped in the disk into one of the DVD players. The machine displayed some static before a familiar scene popped up, one of his mother, father, and little sister sitting on the couch. When he first saw this scene, it brought a big smile to his face, only to realize that the videos were given to him by Monokuma. It was obvious this was a trap. Yet, even knowing this, what was going to happen managed to get a reaction out of the boy.

"Is this thing rolling?" Naegi's dad asked. After being given an answer by the one recording the Naegi family, the man continued. "Listen champ, we're so happy for you. I mean, acceptance to THE best school nationwide... no words can express how proud of you I am."

"The same goes for me," Naegi's mother added. "I know you'll be successful. I just wish you were accepted for a different reason. You know your father and I are still unhappy that you just suddenly vanished and joined a mercenary group."

"Good luck big bro! We'll be cheering you on from here."

That was the last thing displayed on the monitor before IT happened. The screen began blurring for a bit before displaying another scene, one which caused Naegi's eyes to widen. The camera was still recording the livingroom, but the tone was much darker. Instead of the neat room shown earlier, this one was completely torn to pieces. Slash marks were evident on the walls, all the furnature were destroyed, and there was blood everywhere, his family nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, Makoto Naegi," the voice of Monokuma echoed on the set of headphones the boy was wearing. "He had such a supportive family, one who even forgave their son for running away just to play soldier."

Upon hearing this, Naegi's heart stopped. How was the mastermind able to figure out his talent? It wasn't like it was listed anywhere online.

"But one day, they suddenly disappeared. Who knows why..." Monokuma said as the screen turned black before a message popped up.

FIND OUT AFTER GRADUATION.

And that leads to the present, with Naegi suppressing the urge to knock Monokuma's head clean off his body. However, he needed to release his anger somehow, the emotion too strong to bottle up for much longer. As such, upon ejecting the disk, he threw it at the wall across the room as hard as he could, causing the disk to shatter on impact.

"Naegi, are you okay?" Maizono asked upon entering the room. Glancing in her direction, Naegi noticed the rest of his classmates were behind her, each giving him a look of concern or worry. Taking in a few deep breaths, Naegi turned towards the security camera in the room.

"I'm going to get you," Naegi growled at the camera. Though mad, there was no despair hinted in his voice, the only detectable emotions were rage and determination. "I'm going to get you and make you pay for what you've done. I'm not going to die until I've successfully dealt with you. Most importantly, I won't succumb to despair, that's a promise."

"Dude…what the hell did you see?" Kuwata asked Naegi. With a loud sigh, Naegi answered.

"Y-you're going to have to watch them for yourselves. What you're about to see may petrify you."

With that notice, everyone hesitantly popped in their DVDs into the DVD players, all of their faces turning from skepticism to ones of anger, sadness, fear, and even despair.

"W-what is this?!" Togami shouted, though he made sure to control his volume. Next to him, Yamada let out a loud shriek. In fact, everyone began reacting in their own special ways, from Hagakure's insistence this was part of a joke set up by Hopes Peak to Owada's massive swearing segment. However, the person Naegi was worried for the most was Maizono based on how she was acting.

"I-I-I," Maizono mumbled under her breath as she held herself, shivering.

"Maizono, are you okay?" Naegi asked, despite knowing the answer. The girl continued to shiver in fear, ignoring Naegi. It wasn't until he gently touched her shoulder that she reacted.

"Get away from me!" The girl shouted before dashing out of the room. It was easy to tell she wasn't in the best state of mind. Then again, neither was he, nor was anyone else for that matter. Even the usually stoic Kirigiri was glaring at her DVD in anger.

Knowing this, Naegi decided to go find her, quite worried for Maizono's safety.

"I'm going to find her," Naegi excused himself, leaving the rec-room before he began tracking down the idol.

0000

 _Meanwhile, back in the mastermind's headquarters, the real Junko Enoshima stared at the scene with intense curiosity. When she first saw Naegi watch the DVD, she expected him to immediately fall into despair. Yes, she understood he was a soldier, but she knew how much Naegi's family meant to him. If something was to make him fall into the pits of despair, it was the possible death of his family. Yet, the boy managed to cling onto the edge of hope, not willing to surrender. This scene alone made the model realize that Naegi would be the hardest to break, even more so than Kirigiri and Ogami. Soon, everyone will begin to realize this as well. As such, if she managed to break him, then the rest of class 78 will fall shortly after._

 _Now, as for her plans, she was going to push him to murder. She will offer him various rewards for the murder of one of his classmates that'll only be exclusive to him. Eventually, he WILL crack._

 _"Let's see how long you can cling to that 'hope' of yours," Enoshima said as she began to watch Naegi look for Maizono._

0000

"Ah, there you are," Naegi said upon entering classroom 1-C. Just like when she saw the video for the first time, her eyes were filled with nothing but fear as she held herself in a vain attempt at achieving comfort. "Listen, I know things are bad, but we're going to get out of here."

"No we're not!" Maizono snapped at him. "We're never going to leave this nightmare!"

"Yes we are," Naegi replied, attempting to calm the idol down. Unfortunately, he himself was having trouble believing his words. "Someone's going to find us and we'll all be safe."

"Don't you get it?" Maizono mumbled, tears flowing from her eyes. "NO ONE'S GOING TO FIND US! WE'RE TRAPPED! TRAPPED I SAY! I'M GOING TO BE STUCK HERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" Naegi shouted at her, startling the girl. Never had she expected Naegi to raise his voice. "...Not if I can help it. I will get you out of here, and I'll make sure you're not killed in the process. That's a promise, and one thing you should know about me is I always keep my promises."

Upon hearing this, Maizono leaped towards him as she began sobbing in his chest, needing physical comfort. Knowing this, Naegi wrapped his arms around the girl. Unfortunately, such a tender moment can't last forever.

"Hey Naegi, your flagpole is sticking up," Monokuma said, somehow managing to sneak up on the pair. Glaring at Monokuma, Naegi was prepared to take a good swing at the bear, but eventually decided against it. He wasn't going to give him what he wanted, for if he did that, then he'll be executed. If that happened, then there's no telling what was going to happen to Maizono. He made her a promise, and like he said, he always kept them. In fact, making that promise filled him with new hope, one which strengthened his resolve to find a way out of this school.

"Just get out of here," Naegi told the bear as he and Maizono ended the hug.

"Aw... but I don't wanna," Monokuma replied as if he were a small child. "Hey, can I join the hug? Huh? Huh?"

"Yeah, no. The last thing I want is to catch whatever grimy diseases you have." Upon saying that, the young soldier heard Maizono chuckling in the background. It seemed forced, but it was still nice sound to hear, for it signified that the idol had at least calmed down for the time being.

"Man, you're so mean Naegi. Here I am making a little joke as an attempt to lighten the mood, but no, you have to take it personally. Fine, I don't need your hugs!" With one final huff, Monokuma disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving the two teens alone…

0000

After spending some time with Maizono, Naegi decided to retire for the night. While he originally wanted to hang out with one of his classmates, they had all locked themselves in their rooms, causing the boy to do the same. As such, Naegi practiced basic fighting techniques for a few hours before falling asleep. However, he was wakened shortly after by the sound of his doorbell being rung. Taking out his pistol, the soldier slowly crept towards the door before glancing through the peephole. Much to his surprise, he saw it was Maizono who rang his doorbell. Putting his gun inside his pocket, he let the idol into his room. Closing the door, he told her to make herself at home, which she did by sitting on his bed.

"So Maizono, what brings you here?" Naegi asked her. Giving him a look of nervousness, Maizono proceeded to answer his question.

"Well…the truth is, I came here because I was scared. Right when I was about to fall asleep, I heard my door begin to rattle, almost as if someone was trying to break into my room. Eventually it subsided, but I'm too nervous to go back to bed."

"Hm…well if it makes you feel better, you can sleep in my room," Naegi suggested.

"But isn't it weird for a boy and a girl to be sleeping in the same room?" Maizono asked, causing Naegi to blush. Here she was asking him for help and he just had to make the situation awkward. Noticing the boy's uncomfortableness, Maizono let a small giggle escape form her lips.

"Relax, I'm only messing with you. If it's alright with you, could we switch rooms just for the night?"

"Uh, sure," Naegi replied, rubbing his head in embarrassment. "That is if you're okay with having a boy sleep in your room."

"Don't worry, I trust you," Maizono explained. With that, the two traded room keys before Naegi exited his room. As he was about to enter Maizono's, he took one final glance at his room. If someone was really after her, then they might actually show up and try to break through Maizono's door again. They might even go after someone else. As such, the boy decided he wanted to catch this person in the act before they could do any harm.

Sitting down in front of his room, Naegi let out a loud sigh. "I guess I'm on guard duty tonight. It's a good thing I've pulled all nighters before…"

0000

At this moment, Maizono hated herself for what she was going to do next. After spending some time with Naegi, the idol couldn't help but think about the other members of her idol group. While Naegi's video dealt with his family, hers had targeted her friends. What seemed to be a video of one of her past performances soon turned to one displaying her friends unconscious on stage. It was at this point Maizono realized she needed to get out, and she needed to do so fast. The lives of her friends and her entire career was at stake.

Despite what people might think, being an idol isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Maizono and her friends had to do some rather shady stuff in order to make sure they got taken in by a record studio. There was also the issue of staying relevant to the public. One hiatus was enough to end a musician's career, and with Maizono trapped in here for who knows how long, the girl highly doubted she could reclaim her spot as Japan's top music group if she and her friends managed to get knocked off from their pedestals.

It was because of this she formed a plan of getting out of here, for even if Naegi somehow managed to keep his promise, it may be too late for her. Unfortunately, it involved murder. Sneaking into the kitchen, Maizono snagged the biggest kitchen knife she could find before sneaking back to her room. When the nighttime announcement played, she hid the knife in her skirt before heading to Naegi's room, where she convinced him to swap rooms with her. That way, when Maizono does kill someone, the blame would automatically be placed on him. If anything, no one would believe a boy who kept his talent a secret over a famous idol if he did manage to tell the truth.

She really hated having to do this to Naegi, the person she has a crush on, the person who offered to protect her, but her friends were more important right now.

As she was about to exit Naegi's room in order to set her plan in motion, she noticed through the peephole that Naegi was in front of the door, seemingly guarding it from anyone who wished to get to her. It was at this moment Maizono began to really hate herself. Was she really that desperate to get out that she was willing to sacrifice all of her classmates including Naegi? Was the success of her group worth the sacrifice? Clutching the knife in her hands, the girl continued to watch the boy protecting her, questioning what should she do right now. There were only two options. Originally, she planned on tricking Kuwata into entering 'her' room so she could kill him. Though he was an athlete, he was your stereotypical jock who acted upon his urges when he should be using his brain. Sadly, with Naegi in the hallway, that plan went out the window which meant if she wanted to kill someone, it would have to be him. Her second option was to risk the chance of losing her job in order to spare her classmates. To her, this was a tough decision.

Spending about half an hour thinking about her options, the idol made her choice. She was just hoping that she made the right one…


	8. Chapter 8: The First Victim

**Author's note:** **Happy New Years everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to the next chapter of 'Soldier of Hope.' Sorry for not updating…I've been going through a tough time. Anyways, if you ever want to know how far I've gotten into writing the next chapter of this story or any of my other stories, I document progress on my profile. Also, please check out my newest story called 'Unhinged.' It's basically like this story where the main character gets changed in some way. In this case, it's Shuichi Saihara from V3. Lastly, this story is officially a year old…how times fly. Anyways, review and enjoy :-).**

0000

 _'Why are you even thinking about this? He's just a boy.'_

 _'Well yeah, but he subdued one of the most feared gang leaders by himself.'_

 _'But that just proves how dangerous he is. What if the pressure of the killing game gets to him?'_

 _'It's already been two days and he's still keeping his cool in this messed up situation. I'm not worried about him turning on me.'_

 _'Even so, he can't help you.'_

 _'But he's willing to go against Monokuma.'_

 _'So what? What's one boy able to do against an army of robots?'_

 _'He may only be a boy, but he's a fighter. He's unwilling to give in to Monokuma's desires despite being outmatched. Even after the first motive was shown to him, he's still going strong. It's almost like he's a soldier…a soldier of hope...'_

0000

When Kirigiri woke up the next morning at six o'clock, she immediately began making her way towards the cafeteria so she could get something to eat. The reason she woke up so early was because she had big plans for today. First, she was going to thoroughly explore the school for a second time. Why? Well, she had a feeling that she was missing something that could tell her more about her current situation. After all, it wasn't everyday someone was kidnapped and forced to participate in a killing game.

Though she did want to get everyone out of here, she also had a personal reason as to why she wanted to do some early morning exploring; she desired to know what her talent was. Out of everyone here, she was the only one who couldn't show off an ultimate talent. Well, there was Naegi, but she knew he was keeping his a secret. Unfortunately, Kirigiri couldn't even remember hers, having somehow received amnesia after entering the school. She had a sinking feeling that she was some sort of lawyer or detective of some sort due to the amount of knowledge she has on investigating and Japanese law, but she couldn't be too sure. After all, Kirigiri could be a leading member of some sort of corrupt group whose job requires her to forge documents. There were also parts of her memory that were a bit fuzzy after all…

However, she wasn't too worried about what how her talent dictated her life compared to what it actually was; as long as she could help someone with it, then she was willing to claim any sort of title...

Making her way to the cafeteria, she was surprised to see Naegi was awake as well, seemingly guarding his door from intruders.

"Hey Kirigiri," Naegi said before yawning. Looking at him, the young girl realized that he seemed to have gotten no sleep. Weird…

"Good morning Naegi," Kirigiri replied. "Mind if I ask what you're doing up this early?"

"Oh…well, someone was after Maizono and she came running to my room," Naegi replied. "I let her sleep in my room and I'm just making sure the person after her doesn't come back. How about you? What are you doing up this early?"

"…I'm doing some early investigating. There might be something important lying around in the school that we've missed. However, before I go, can I ask if Maizono mentioned anything about her attacker, such as their gender or build?"

"No, she said that she was too afraid to look at the peephole in her room," Naegi sheepishly replied. "Sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Kirigiri told him. "However, there is something else I wish to know."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Your talent. I know for a fact you know what your ultimate ability is, yet you're refusing to share it. Why?"

"…" Upon hearing this, Naegi stood silent. It seemed he needed to be careful from now on, seeing he must have screwed up somewhere if Kirigiri could see right through him. "I'm sorry, but that's a secret. However, believe me when I say that I'm not a bad guy. I'm just like all of you…I'm confused and scared. I want to leave this place, but I won't resort to murder to escape. You have my word."

"…Very well then," Kirigiri stated. "Just understand that for as long as you keep your talent a secret then I won't be able to fully trust you unless proven otherwise."

"I understand," Naegi said with a nod. Seeing as she no longer had business with the shorter boy, the lavender haired girl continued her walk to the cafeteria, leaving the soldier alone.

'Sorry Kirigiri, but if you truly knew what I was, then you'd trust me less than you already do…'

0000

An hour has passed since Kirigiri and Naegi had spoken to each other and the Monokuma Announcement just finished playing. A few seconds later, Naegi saw his door swing open before a tired looking Maizono walked out. However, when she saw Naegi waiting for her, whatever tiredness she was feeling soon faded as she gave him one of her signature smiles.

"Good morning Naegi," the idol greeted her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, well, I was guarding my door," Naegi told her. "I was hoping that I could catch the person trying to break into your room."

"Oh, well, thank you," Maizono said. However, unknown to Naegi, the idol's face briefly flashed a look of guilt. Who could blame her though? Here was someone trying to make sure that she was safe and she was seriously considering killing him at one point. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You did nothing wrong."

"Oh, did I say that out loud?" Maizono asked. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. Anyways, do you want to walk together to the cafeteria?"

"Sure," Naegi replied, only to yawn again. Letting out a giggle, Maizono grabbed her friend's hand before leading him to the cafeteria, making him blush.

0000

When the two friends entered the cafeteria, there was no one else there, making them realize that they were the first to arrive. However, they weren't alone for long for Ishimaru walked in a few seconds later.

"Good morning classmates!" Ishimaru eagerly greeted the two. "I'm glad to there are others who value the importance of waking up early seeing as you two have…gotten here…before me…AHH! I'm so ashamed of myself! As the ultimate moral compass, I should be the one setting the example. My tardiness shouldn't be tolerated. Naegi! I want you to strike me as hard as you can! I must be taught a lesson!"

"What? No!" Naegi replied, surprised by Ishimaru's freak out. "We just happened to have gotten up earlier than the morning announcement. Don't worry, you're not late."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for that, you would've gotten here earlier than us," Maizono added.

Calming down, Ishimaru took a seat. "Oh, I see."

The three classmates then began eating some breakfast prepared by Naegi. It didn't take long for others to start showing up.

"Hey everyone," Asahina greeted as she sped walked towards her seat, Ogami following the swimmer at a slower pace.

"Greetings."

Looking around, Naegi realized that everyone here were usually the ones who have always arrived first to the cafeteria for the daily breakfast meetings. If this was an ordinary school, everyone currently here could be considered the 'teacher's pets' of their class.

"H-hey everyone, I hope I'm not late," Fujisaki timidly said as she took a seat next to Asahina.

"Nonsense Fujisaki, you've made it on time," Ishimaru exclaimed, Kuwata entering the cafeteria a few seconds later.

"Sup everyone." Taking a seat next to Maizono, the baseball player gave her a wink, only to receive an eye roll in response. Looking at the scene, it was clear the idol wanted nothing to do with the athlete, which was quite surprising. Naegi honestly thought all girls liked a good athlete.

"Not everyone's the same," Maizono told him, surprising Naegi.

"Eh? Did I say that out loud?"

"Nope, I'm a psychic, remember? I'm kidding, I just have good intuition."

"...I'm starting to think you might actually have telepathy," Naegi said with a sigh, earning another giggle from the idol, unaware that Kuwata had a jealous expression on his face.

"Ah, I had the best sleep ever," Yamada explained as he walked into the cafeteria a few minutes after Kuwata had, taking his seat.

"That makes one of us," Naegi muttered under his breath.

"L-lucky you," Fukawa muttered under her breath, having entered the cafeteria a few seconds after the fanfic writer. She proceeded to take a seat far away from everyone else. A few seconds later, Kirigiri slipped in, appearing to have finished her investigation. The girl didn't bother greeting her classmates verbally, only giving them a nod of acknowledgement.

Looking at those who have recently arrived, Naegi realized this was the normal time they did so each day. To Naegi, these kids could be considered the 'normies' of a class, the kids who usually arrived on time, but didn't bother making their presence known.

By the time another one of Naegi's classmates entered the cafeteria, everyone was in their own little worlds.

"Sorry I'm late," Owada grumbled before taking a seat next to Naegi. Ishimaru, noticing that the gang leader was late to the meeting, started chewing him out.

"Owada! The meeting was supposed to start at seven thirty! How dare you be late! If this was a regular school environment, you'd probably be given detention!"

"Dude, calm your tits. I said I was fuckin' sorry."

"Language!"

"Fuck you!"

"Guys, can we not do this today?" Naegi politely asked. "I didn't get much sleep."

"Sorry," Owada grumbled, shrugging his shoulders, Ishimaru replying shortly after.

"My apologies Naegi."

"Damn, what's with all the ruckus?" Enoshima asked as she casually strolled into the cafeteria. When she sat down, she gave Naegi a wink, much to the annoyance of Maizono.

"Language!" Ishimaru shouted, only to receive a dirty look from both the model and gang leader.

"Perhaps you should stop shouting," Celestia suggested as she walked into the cafeteria. "You're only adding to the problem."

Ishimaru took some time to reflect on what the girl said before replying. "Oh no! You're right, my apologies classmates!"

"It's fine dude," Kuwata told him as Hagakure stumbled into the cafeteria.

"Yo! What's up everyone," the possible drug addict greeted his classmates as he sat down and started eating breakfast.

The last person to arrive was Togami who after glancing at his classmates, scoffed arrogantly before taking his seat far away from everyone, similar to how Fukawa did when she first entered the cafeteria.

Looking at everyone who entered later than the meeting's starting time, Naegi realized that these students were the 'bad apples' of the class. In one way or another, they'd find a way of pissing off most teachers, whether it'd be intentional or not. Wait? Why the hell was Naegi even paying attention to this? Was he really that bored?

"Alright, seeing as everyone is here, I think now is a good time to start today's meeting," the ultimate moral compass stated, grabbing everyone's attention. "Now, did anyone explore the school during their free time?"

"…I did," Kirigiri stated in her usual monotonic voice. "But don't get your hopes up... I found nothing important."

"Oh, I see. How unfortunate. However, what's most important is that everyone's still alive. No one fell into Monokuma's trap."

"That's a relief," Fujisaki quietly stated. "For a second I was worried that someone was going to betray us…"

"…" Upon hearing this, Maizono immediately began to feel guilty again. The brief expression of regret that flashed on her face didn't go unnoticed, for Enoshima managed to see it, but she was the only one for everyone else was too busy focusing on Fujisaki.

"…That doesn't mean you're all safe yet," Togami said from his table. "It just means the killing game is going to last longer."

"Could you please stop calling this a game?" Asahina asked. "This messed up situation we're in is no game."

"That's where you're wrong," Togami informed her. "Just because something is not fun doesn't mean that it's not a game. In the end, this is a clear example of what a game should be like; a goal, a means of getting to it, and the need to compete with others to achieve such a goal. I swear, you plebeians are all the same, constantly denying anything that goes against your moral beliefs."

"…How ignorant," Naegi angrily muttered under his breath. He was honestly fed up with Togami's arrogance, and it hasn't even been a week yet. As someone who's seen countless people die, calling any sort of killing a game doesn't sit well with the soldier.

"Are you ok Naegi?" Maizono asked, seeing the distressed look on the boy's face.

"I'm fine, just a bit upset at what Togami said," Naegi told her.

"You're not the only one…"

Seeing the tension building up in the room, Ishimaru decided to cut today's meeting short. "Uh, well, since there's nothing else that needs to be done, I suggest you al keep searching the school during your free time. You're all dismissed."

0000

With the meeting having been over, Naegi began making his way back to his room, only to realize that he doesn't have anything to do today. He could explore the school a bit, but he could do that anytime. Perhaps he should hang out with some of his classmates...

Deciding that would be the best course of action, the boy began to seek out either Maizono and Enoshima, wanting to spend some time with them. After all, he was close to them compared to the rest of his classmates. Unfortunately, he couldn't find Maizono anywhere and when he did manage to find Enoshima, she claimed to be too busy at the moment to hang out.

"Sorry Naegi, I'll make it up to you," the fashion model told him. "Trust me, next time we hang out, it'll be a time you'll never forget.~"

In the end, Naegi ended up having to search for another person to spend time with. Thankfully, not log after speaking to Enoshima, Naegi managed to find Asahina, who was eating a donut in the cafeteria.

"Hey Asahina," Naegi greeted, causing the swimmer to curiously glance at him. "Um, do you want to hang out? I'm trying to get to know my classmates better..."

"Sure," Asahina said, surprising the boy with how quickly she answered. "You don't seem like a bad person."

0000

"Oh man... Oh man," Asahina said as she jogged in place. After finishing her donut, the girl suddenly stood up and began stretching, only for it to turn into a jog shortly after.

"What up?" Naegi asked.

"I'm gettin' totally fired up!"

"Fired up? How come? Was it because of the donut?"

"How come doesn't matter! Now that I'm revved up, I need to get it out! Let's race!" Asahina excitedly stated. Upon being challenged by the swimmer, Naegi began to think. On one hand, there was the possibility of being caught by Ishimaru, which would then lead to a three hour lecture about the proper way to act in a school. However, Naegi also had energy he desperately needed to release.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naegi decided to take his chances. "Sure, I'm down for a race. I must warn you that I'm quite fast…"

0000

"Wow…you weren't kidding… when you said…you were fast," Asahina said in between pants. Having raced around the school three times, the swimmer honestly expected an easy victory. After all, Naegi didn't exactly look so tough. Unfortunately, it seemed she severely underestimated him, for once the race started, he was easily able to catch up to her before eventually surpassing her. While she was the ultimate swimmer, which made her good at running, Naegi had military training. After all, when things get dire, a good soldier must be fit enough to run away.

"Hehe, thanks," Naegi said bashfully. "You're pretty good yourself. Not many people are able to prevent me from leaving them in the dust."

"…It's decided."

"What's decided?"

"It's decided that you're going to be my new rival, at least until we escape," Asahina declared proudly.

"A rival? What do you need one for?"

"To keep me active of course," Asahina stated. "If I'm going to be stuck here, I at least want to stay fit. I still want to compete in the Olympics."

"The Olympics huh…I'm guessing you want to be an Olympic swimmer in the future?"

"Of course! This is something I've wanted since I was little, and you're going to help me achieve my dream. As such, expect me to challenge you to more stuff in the future!"

"Uh, I'll try my best," Naegi told her, causing the swimmer to smile.

"Thanks Naegi! Man, all this running is making me hungry. Now if you excuse me, there's eleven more donuts in the kitchen calling my name." With that, Asahina began jogging towards the cafeteria.

"Man, she sure is hyper…"

0000

After Asahina practically deserted him, Naegi began to go back into his room, only to notice that he still had daylight to kill. As such, he began searching for another one classmates to occupy time with. However, as he was checking out one of the classrooms, a cry of distress was made.

"No... No...!"

Perking up, Naegi immediately made a mad dash towards the general direction of the cry. Eventually making his way to the the rec-room, he eventually found the source of the distressed voice. In the middle of the room was Fujisaki, gripping her arm in pain.

"Fujisaki! Are you ok?" Naegi asked the programmer. Giving the boy a pained expression, she then went back to gripping her arm.

"It hurts…"

"Are you injured? Did someone attack you?"

"Oh, well...not really. I got bit by a mosquito last night."

Upon hearing this, Naegi let out a sigh of relief. It would be terrible if anyone got truly injured while trapped here. "A mosquito...? Oh, I figured something serious had happened, since you were saying how it hurt."

"Oh, did I give you the wrong impression...? S-Sorry...!" Fujisaki said as she hung her head in shame.

You don't have to apologize. It was my own fault," Naegi exclaimed, attempting to calm the poor girl down. "I tend to overreact when someone's hurt. Did it really bite you that hard?"

"Yeah, see?" Holding out her arm, Naegi noticed an extremely large mosquito bite. Granted, he's seen bigger, but it was still big regardless.

"Holy cow! How did this get so big? Did it bite you while you were asleep?"

"Well, no, it didn't. I was awake the entire time."

"Then why didn't you kill it?"

"W-well, because it must have been really hungry to suck that much blood. If it was that hungry, it would've been really sad not to let it have anything."

"But it's just a mosquito…"Naegi deadpanned.

"But mosquitos are living things too," Fujisaki passionately explained. "It might have its own mosquito family... S-Sorry, I know that's dumb..."

"No, really, you don't have to apologize," Naegi informed her. "I understand where you're coming from. But don't go scratching it, okay? That'll just make things worse. If you really need to ease the feeling to scratch, just take the tip of your fingernail and push it into the bump. That'll help."

"Wow! I had no idea. Thanks Naegi, you're so smart."

"Eh, I wouldn't say that," Naegi bashfully told her.

"Oh…but anyway, don't you think it's kinda strange?"

"What's strange?"

"Well this school is completely sealed off, right? So how'd a mosquito get in?" Fujisaki asked. "Maybe there's somewhere here in the school where bugs can live and grow. Some kind of...nature-y spot."

"The school's upper floors are locked, so there might be some sort of garden," Naegi said.

"Or or or! Maybe there's a secret passage somewhere that leads out of the school!" The programmer exclaimed, getting pumped up.

"…I highly doubt it. But hey, even without a secret passage we'll still be able to find a way out of here as long as we stick together."

"You're right! Working together is super important..." Fujisaki stated, only to hang her head down in shame a second later. "Of course, I dunno how I can be useful. I'll probably just weigh you all down..."

"You're kidding me, right?" Naegi asked her. "You're the ultimate programmer. If anyone could majorly benefit this group it's you. All we need to do is get you access to a computer and we'll be able to gain a lot of information about the mastermind."

"Y-you really think I can help?"

"Of course. Your time to shine will come soon, so just hang on until then, ok?"

"Ok. Eheh... thank you Naegi."

"No problem," Naegi said. "I'm glad that I'm able to help."

'That's right Fujisaki, we'll all eventually get out of here, so just keep hanging onto hope.'

0000

The next day, Naegi was able to sleep in a bit. Unfortunately, it seemed he was so tired from guarding Maizono the night before that he overslept. It wasn't until Enoshima began literally pounding on his door that he got up.

"...hey Enoshima," Naegi said, until he noticed she currently had a panicked expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

"…There's no easy way to tell you," Enoshima began, struggling to speak. "But…we have our first casualty."

"First casualty…" Naegi groggily repeated, only for the words to eventually dawn on him. "Wait, you don't mean?"

"Y-yeah. Someone's dead. Everyone's already gathered around the crime scene."

Once Enoshima said this, Naegi immediately shot forwards like a bullet he began looking for the area all his classmates were gathered. It didn't take long for the boy to find the area, for it was located in the dorm rooms.

"Maizono, what's happening?" Naegi asked the idol upon seeing her. Turning towards him, Naegi realized that she had been crying.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," the idol muttered to herself. "There were no warning signs that he would be targeted. He may have been an airhead, but he didn't deserve this…"

Eventually shoving past everyone, Naegi entered the door room, where a grim sight was waiting for him…

For in the dorm's bathroom…

Lied Hagakure…with a knife embedded into his stomach…


	9. Chapter 9: The First Investigation

**Author's note: Hey everyone, FireSlash here and welcome back to Soldier of Hope. The reason I was gone (other than because of school) was because I was thinking of how to go about the trial and investigation. If you've been following my stories, then you'll remember that I had a Pokémon/Danganronpa crossover where I attempted a class trial, but failed. Those were dark times. As such, I decided to take extra caution and care when doing this part of the story. But hey, even though it took me quite a while to write this, this chapter ended up being the third longest chapter I've written ever, so I think it's a good tradeoff. Now, review and enjoy :-).**

0000

 _It was midnight in Japan, a time where the highly industrialized country was finally allowed to rest. While most people used this time to charge up for the next day, seven year old Mukuro Ikusaba used this time to earn a quick buck. She obviously wasn't allowed to get a job due to her age, so she ended up having to rely on more unconventional methods of earning money instead._

 _Walking down an alleyway located in a rather shady looking neighborhood, Ikusaba began approaching a metal door that had been built into the building to her right. Knocking on the door, the luckster waited a few seconds until someone finally began peering through the door's peephole. Seemingly recognizing the young girl, the person opened the door, revealing them to be a muscular man._

 _"Back for more?" The guy gruffly asked her. Despite his intimidating stature, Ikusaba wasn't afraid. She's seen him multiple times in her life already, there was no need for her to be scared._

 _Looking up at him, the young girl nodded. "Yes. Are there a lot of people today?"_

 _Crossing his arms, the man shaked his head. "No, not today. However, we do have a rich boy who's willin' to play. Don't know why, he's already got enough money to live off of even if the economy crashes. He's certainly got some screws loose."_

 _Hearing this made Ikusaba smile. It seems like Enoshima will be getting her wish sooner than she thought..._

 _0000_

 _Entering the building, Ikusaba was greeted by the familiar sight of an underground casino, equipped with a bar and several tables where people could gamble their life savings freely. Despite its small size, the underground casino had a surprisingly large selection of games. However, Ikusaba never bothered with most of the games offered. Whenever she visited an underground casino, it was to earn money, not to have fun. She actually found most of the games boring._

 _Speaking of earning money, after she had entered the casino, Ikusaba wasted no time and immediately went towards one of the tables located far back in the casino. Glancing at the table, the girl noticed there were three other people at the table, excluding the person working at the place. One of them looked to be a middle class working man while the other one seemed to be extremely wealthy, just like the man at the door said he was._

 _"Ah, here she is," the guy working the table said with a smile as he saw Ikusaba walk towards the table. "Our number one attraction."_

 _Hearing the man say this caused everyone to stop what they were doing. To those who were regulars at this place, Ikusaba was a legend due to her uncanny luck. So far, she remains undefeated in the game she's known for playing, a feat which made for quality entertainment._

 _"Really, that's her?" the rich guy snottily asked. " You're telling me a little girl is your champion? Whatever, this'll be easy."_

 _"You'll be eating those words soon bud," the man at the table replied. "The game's about to start now. Place your bets."_

 _Cockily rolling his eyes, the rich man placed down 110440 yen as the other man placed 11037 yen, making Ikusaba's eyes widen. This'll be the most money she'd be winning since...well, since ever. Even better, this'll be more than enough for her to afford the plane tickets to Spain Enoshima so desired while still having some left to support them._

 _After the two men placed down their bets, Ikusaba put down a measly 1104 yen, the most she had on her at the time. Seeing as everyone placed their bets, the man working the table immediately placed a gun on the table before explaining the rules of the game the three would be playing. "One round of Russian Roulette, winner takes all. The rules are simple, hold this BB gun towards your head, spin the cylinder, and hope to God you don't get shot. This thing can still be lethal, even if it isn't an actual gun."_

 _Ikusaba knew how dangerous a simple BB gun can be, having witnessed several people fall into a coma because of the gun's power. Deaths weren't rare either. With the three players staring each other down, Ikusaba decided she would take first crack at the gun. Following the procedures outlined, the girl pointed the gun to herself and pulled the trigger without any hesitation. Back when she first started playing Russian Roulette, the girl used to be deathly afraid of the bullet, the only reason she even bothered playing this game was due to her devotion for her sister. But after awhile, Ikusaba's fear of the game left her body seeing as she had never gotten shot while playing the game due to her luck._

 _Like she expected, the gun only made a 'clicking' sound once fired._

 _Next to use the gun was the rich man, not wanting to be outdone by a little girl. Like Ikusaba, nothing happened when he pulled the trigger, which didn't surprise the girl. Based on Ikusaba's experience, the first round usually went without incident._

 _'Bang!' Well, they usually did. Unfortunately, it seemed the middle class man was just unlucky, for when he pulled the trigger, he managed to get hit by the pellet. As the man began screaming in pain, everyone in the casino began moving closer to the back, eager to see Ikusaba take yet another victim._

 _"Sorry missy, but you might as well go home," the rich man told Ikusaba. "There's a reason I'm rich."_

 _"Probably has to do more with your parents being rich instead of you having any sort of skills or luck." Ikusaba taunted, her voice lacking any emotion as she pulled the trigger a second time. Like last time, no pellet came out. Angry, the rich man snatched the gun from the girl's hands and pulled the trigger, only for nothing to happen yet again. The two would continue to pass the gun back and forth for another five minutes, neither managing to get shot in the head. Everytime he pulled the trigger or when Ikusaba was about to do the same, the rich guy would always make some snide remark about her. Eventually getting tired of dealing with this man, Ikusaba glanced at the guy running the game. "I think it's time to add four more pellets."_

 _Hearing this caused the guy to give her a look of shock. "Are you crazy?! We'll only have a one in six chance of not getting shot! That's suicide!"_

 _"I know," Ikusaba replied, still lacking any sort of emotion in her voice as the man behind the table loaded the gun with four more pellets. This was something she always requested if she felt a match was taking too long. Most people usually never made it past another round after the bullets were added._

 _"Looks like we'll be entering overdrive mode," the man stated before handing Ikusaba the gun._

 _Looking her opponent dead in the eyes, Ikusaba moved the gun towards her head before pulling the trigger. Upon doing so, the gun made a strange clicking sound, something that was quite common when Ikusaba played this game. "Oh, it jammed."_

 _Ikusaba passed the gun to the man behind the table so he could fix it, who then gave it to the rich man after he did so. Easy to say, the rich guy was quite nervous now._

 _"W-w-wait! The gun jammed! That doesn't count!"_

 _"Sorry bud, but jams count," the guy behind the table told him. "Russian Roulette's a game of luck, and a gun jamming generally is part of that. Now hurry up and finish the game."_

 _"It's fine," Ikusaba told him. "Just give me the gun. I'll go again."_

 _"You sure?" The guy asked her, surprised. Ikusaba was usually never this bold, usually allowing jams to count as a turn._

 _Nodding, the young girl grabbed the gun out of his hands and held it towards her head, all while the rich man smiled cockily at her. Her luck wasn't going to save her this time…_

 _'Click!'_

 _Gulping, the man held the gun to his head, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Eventually gathering enough courage, he pulled the trigger, only to feel the full force of a pellet hitting his skull. As the man collapsed, everyone in the casino began cheering._

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, Ikusaba does it again!" the man working behind the table shouted, causing everyone to shout even louder. While all this was going on, Ikusaba was gathering all the money she just won, eager to show it all to her sister..._

 _0000_

 _When someone thinks of a soldier, they usually think of someone who has no problems with killing people opposing them. However, the truth is, most soldiers aren't the trigger happy people movies make them out to be. For the most part, they hate having to kill people, but they do so anyways to protect their homeland._

 _For Makoto Naegi, Fenrir's star fighter, this was all true. When he first developed an interest for warfare, he believed he would be one of the goodguys. As a young child, you really only see the world in black and white; there seemed to only be bad guys and good guys. But as you grow up, you realize there are people doing the right things for the wrong reasons and vice versa. Some learn this faster than others. Naegi was one of those people, for Fenrir weren't exactly the good guys he initially thought they were…_

 _When did his illusion shatter? Well, it started two weeks after he officially joined Fenrir. The mercenary group were trying their best to drive the terrorist group they were hired to fight out of a largely populated city. What the city's name was or where it was located, Naegi didn't remember. All he knew was that during the fight, it seemed both sides were evenly matched. Learning from their past mistakes, Fenrir decided to bring more soldiers along for the ride, which in conjunction with their superior weaponry, allowed them to cancel out the numbers advantage the terrorists had._

 _Currently, Naegi was trying to break into the building the opposing forces' general was hiding at, doing so under direct orders from Tokuda. According to him, the best way to deal hard hitting damage to any army was by wiping out their generals. Witnessing this theory proven true during his first battle, Naegi never bothered questioning his superior._

 _With Naegi were six other men, five of them he didn't know. The sixth person was Miyashiro Akio, a fifteen year old Japanese member of Fenrir and Naegi's best friend during his time in the mercenary group. Like Naegi, he was a formidable foe in combat, excelling at sniping and providing cover for his allies. Due to their high skill levels, it wasn't uncommon to see Naegi and Akio paired up, the two forming a dynamic duo which could even rival Batman and Robin. There was a time where they even managed to fend off an entire force by themselves, but that's a story for another time…_

 _With two groups covering them, Naegi and his group eventually managed to reach the three story building the general chose for his hiding spot. Circling around the building to avoid enemy fire, Naegi stopped his men to address them._

 _"Listen men, if we're going to make it out of this alive, we need to stick together," Naegi told them. "I'll lead, and Akio will be in the back. I need the rest of you to watch my back. When we get upstairs, I'll need all you to switch to a defensive role while I take on the general. Can you do that?"_

 _Akio gave him a thumbs up while the others begrudgingly nodded. You could only imagine how much being forced to follow orders being given by a kid hurt their pride. Satisfied with the response he got, Naegi immediately plowed through the building's back entrance, the door being very fragile, and led the charge towards the general. Though there had to be thirty people trying to stop them from reaching their destination, the small group was like an unstoppable bullet, leaving a trail of destruction behind them as the continued forth. Eventually, they made it to their destination, with Naegi preparing to smash through the door as his allies prepared to cover him. Taking out his trusty handgun, Naegi slammed through the door without hesitation, causing bullets to fly from both sides. With his allies doing his job, Naegi was able to chase down the general without any problem. Running through two rooms, Naegi eventually shot the man in the leg, preventing him from running any further. Seeing as he couldn't retreat anymore, the man tried shooting Naegi, only for the boy to shoot another bullet at his gun, knocking it out of his hands. As a last ditch effort to kill the boy, the man began reaching for the dropped weapon. Sadly for him, Naegi simply kicked the weapon to the other side of the room, making the man groan in frustration. Closing his eyes, the man began preparing for death, only for it to never come._

 _"Tch, what's taking you so long to kill me already?" The man asked in English. "I've been beaten. Do you take a sadistic pleasure in watching helpless people anticipate death or something?"_

 _"No, I'm here to make you an offer," Naegi told him in the same language. Living in a society where English was quite the common language made Naegi's parents force him and his little sister to study the language. It ended up being very useful for the boy during his time in Fenrir since it was the language spoken by the group. "I really don't like killing people-"_

 _"Then you chose the wrong path kid," the man interrupted._

 _"- So I'm willing to bargain with you. If you surrender now, I can promise you that no harm will come of you, as long as you're willing to cooperate of course."_

 _Believing this to be a reasonable offer, Naegi was quite surprised when the man began to laugh._

 _"What's so funny?"_

 _"Hahaha, it's just, you know all you're doing is spouting shit right now, right?"_

 _"Eh?"_

 _"There's no way Fenrir will stay true to anything they offer. You're monsters, all of you!"_

 _"No that's wrong!" Naegi shouted. "We're the good guys, you're the bad guys! You're the ones who are going around killing innocents! If anyone's the monsters, it's you guys."_

 _"Wow… I forgot how stupid kids are," the man stated. "You call us terrorists, but all we're doing is fighting against a faulty government. So what if a little blood is spilt along the way? It makes sure we're listen to. You guys on the other hand don't fight for anything but a quick buck."_

 _"Y-you're wrong! I was told that Fenrir fights for justice…"_

 _"Kid, do you even know what the term 'mercenary' means? Of course not, otherwise we wouldn't be here. A mercenary is someone who fights for money. It doesn't matter if one side is the aggressor or the victim, Fenrir will help out whichever side offers the most money. Whoever fed you the bullshit that Fenrir's a 'good guy club' was only trying to recruit you. I'd tell you to look up their history, but it's all hidden from the public. How about once you go back to your base, ask whoever the fuck's in charge about 'Operation Quick Draw' and see how they react. It'll prove I'm righ-"_

 _'BANG!' Before the guy could finish his sentence, a shot was fired, causing his head to explode. Looking behind him, Naegi saw it was Akiro who had fired the shot._

 _"Dude, are you ok?" The teenager asked his friend. "You were taking quite a while and I was starting to get worried."_

 _"Yeah...I'm fine," Naegi said. Thus began his quest in learning about the true nature of Fenrir. Let's just say once he learned the truth, Naegi began going through an existential crisis. Was he still a good person even though he was working for a group like Fenrir? Did it make him any less moral for deciding not to risk death by escaping? To this day, he still hasn't figured out the answers to his dilemma._

0000

"What...why?" Naegi asked as he looked at Hagakure's corpse. Despite seeing a lot of dead bodies during his time in Fenrir, the sight of this body greatly sickened him. Hagakure had no reason to die, he was just a victim in all this. "H-he didn't need to die."

"...I agree," Ogami said with a nod. As a sign of respect for the recently deceased fortune teller, everyone stood silent for a few seconds. Eventually, Owada broke said silence.

"So what now?" Owada asked everyone. "Does the asshole who killed Hagakure get to leave now?"

"Nope!" Monokuma cheerfully said as he suddenly appeared behind them. "It took you bastards long enough, but we've finally got our first death! Anyone else excited, or is it just me?"

"It depends on what's next," Togami replied, earning him many frowns. The affluent prodigy didn't care though, his full attention being focused on the robotic bear.

"I'd tell you now, but I've got something important I want to give you. Meet me in the gym in five minutes. Don't be tardy now!" With that, Monokuma left as quickly as he came, leaving behind fifteen confused and scared individuals.

"Well… I guess we should go now," Asahina said as she began eying the dead body again. "Why did you have to die? You may have been stupid and weird, but you were also a human being! You didn't deserve this…"

"You can grieve all you want later," Kirigiri told her. "For now, we should do as Monokuma says. The last thing we want is to anger the person controlling him."

Asahina turned her attention towards the amnesiac, wanting to argue against her, but realized she was completely right. As such, she simply nodded and began making her way towards the gymnasium, everyone else following shortly after. The last person to leave was Naegi, who continued to stare at the body. What bothered him the most was the bloodshot look in his eyes, a look which disturbed him to this day. It was a sign that Hagakure suffered during the last moments of his life. Shaking his head, he forcefully closed the boy's eyes before making his way towards the gymnasium.

0000

"Damn, you seem to love taking your sweet time," Monokuma remarked as the soldier entered the gym. Looking around, Naegi noticed everyone else had already arrived, which made sense seeing as the left before him. "I grew, like, ten gray hairs waiting for your ass!"

"Well, he's here now," Togami impatiently told him. "Now, you can tell us why you've gathered us."

Hearing this made Monokuma smile. It was time for the festivities to begin. "Well, since the bum's dead, it time for you guys to find his murderer, and what better way to do that than by holding a class trial!"

Kuwata gave the bear a confused look. "Class trial? So you mean it's not enough to kill someone?"

"Yep!" Monokuma shouted in glee as he noticed the fear which had begun to embody everyone. "If all you had to do was kill someone, then this would simply be a battle royal. But who the hell wants to watch those anymore? They're so predictable and boring, not to mention overdone. As such, I've gone through the liberty of creating a game that has both action and suspense, one where the winner isn't so obvious! Now that someone's dead, it's time for all of you to find the blackened living among you! Trust me when I say that you should all try your hardest. Failure to find the blackened will result in the innocents getting punished."

"And what do you mean by that?" Kirigiri asked him.

"...Simply put, it's an execution," Monokuma nonchalantly said. Immediately, bodies began shaking.

"W-what do you mean by execution?" Fujisaki nervously asked the bear.

"Execution is...execution. Ex-e-cution! Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poison gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper plane in a hurricane! So judge carefully, because all your lives are on the line!"

With this bombshell of a reveal told, everyone began looking at one another in fear. No one wanted to die, and no one wanted to accept the fact someone in this very school killed Hagakure. It was simply too much to take in. The only one who seemed remotely fine was Togami, who appeared to actually be excited by all this madness! Everyone else on the other hand wanted to scream, shout, and/or attack Monokuma for doing this to them. However, only one person seemed brave enough to take action.

"...No. I refuse to do this…" Enoshima said, growled at the bear.

"Eh?"

"I refuse to do this shit!" Enoshima shouted. "It's bad enough that someone's already died, but now you're telling us to find their murderer...like this is some sort of game? No! I'm sick of this crap! I'm sick of you! I'm sick of all of this! I want out!"

"Well, tough luck princess," Monokuma casually told her. "You're stuck here 'till you kill someone. Suck it up you selfish brat."

"Selfish? You think I'm being selfish?" Enoshima growled again. "You're the one being selfish! Trapping us in this death game just for your entertainment… what kind of sick fuck does that?"

"You know, you're starting to piss me off," Monokuma growled before pouting. "I feel attacked."

"Tch, you think that's an attack?'' Enoshima taunted. "Why don't you come over here so I can show you what one truly feels like."

"Enoshima, I suggest you cease this at once," Ogami recommended,knowing full well what will happen if Enoshima got physical with the 'headmaster.' However, the model simply ignored her.

"Oh, so you want a piece of the great and powerful Monokuma? Take this!" With that, Monokuma began waddling towards Enoshima with his claws extended, only for the girl to easily stop him by simply stepping on him.

"There, I beat you. Can I go now?" Enoshima asked. However, Monokuma simply laughed at her. "What's so funny?"

"You really think I'd go down that fast?" Monokuma asked as he continued to squirm under the model's boot. Eventually, he stopped. "I didn't want to do this, but since it seems like we have a little rule breaker here, it's time for me to unleash my true power. Spears of gungnir, I call upon your aid. Strike down the evil who opposes me. Awaken my friends!"

"What the hell are you-" Enoshima began to ask, confused by what Monokuma was doing. Meanwhile, as the whole echange was going on, Naegi's sixth sense was going crazy, warning him about an unseeable threat. As such, the soldier began paying close attention to his surroundings and was quite surprised to see that several holes began opening in the ground, something no one else noticed due to them being engrossed by the fight happening between the model and Monokuma. With this being seen, Naegi's body went on autopilot, causing him to run towards the model as she began to ask her question. Not allowing her to finish, Naegi tackled her with unbelievable speeds as several spears began to fire from the holes in the ground. While he was able to save Enoshima from being impaled, one of the spears managed to leave a large gash in the soldier's left leg, causing him to shout in pain.

"Gah!" Looking at his leg, Naegi noticed that even though the cut was big, his leg would be fine. The spear didn't deal any lethal damage. With him being fine, Naegi then looked at the model under him, who's face so happened to be nearly as red as a tomato. "Are you ok?"

"Y-y-y-y-yeah," Enoshima said, completely embarrassed by the position she was in. Satisfied with the answer, Naegi stood up and faced Monokuma.

"You just tried to kill her!"

"Of course I did," Monokuma replied. "She broke one of the school rules. Violence towards the headmaster is not accepted and must be dealt with accordingly. It's a shame that you managed to save. It seems like I'll have to try again. Don't get in the way this time."

"Not a chance," Naegi said as he wobbled between Enoshima and the bear, the model still trying to recover from her near death. Naegi didn't want to see another innocent person die. "If you want to get to her, then you'll need to get through me first."

"Naegi, what are you doing?!" Maizono asked, scared by the fact he was so willing to give his life for someone he barely knows.

"Protecting her," Naegi told the idol. "I promised myself that I'd protect those who did nothing wrong and I don't plan on breaking that promise now. So Monokuma, I'll cut you a deal. You can take me and leave Enoshima, or you can take us both while suffering several casualties on your side. So, what's it going to be?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Monokuma went silent, taking as he continued to watch the boy. Meanwhile, everyone else was watching the scene with intense fear. Were they really going to lose Naegi? However, no one was more scared than Naegi himself. Even though he was the one who was actively defying Monokuma, he really didn't want to die. In fact, like most, he was scared of death. But at the same time, he couldn't let another good person die for no reason. The difference between him and Enoshima was that he's killed people, more people than the famous serial killer Genocider Jack, so if he had to pick who should die between the two of them, then he'd pick him every time..

"..."

0000

 ** _The real Enoshima groaned as she watched Naegi's heroic act. His heroism simply showed the boy still had hope in him even while he stared death in the face. It disgusted her._**

 ** _As for his offer, Enoshima really wanted to just kill both of them, not really worried about the possibility of Monokumas being destroyed, but something was stopping her. To Enoshima, killing Naegi would be the biggest waste of all time. Out of everyone she's met, Naegi so happened to interest her the most. In fact, he was one of two people who she found interesting. Even though he was a soldier and a goody two shoes, Naegi still remained a mystery to her, which was funny seeing as how he was an open book._**

 ** _What was so mysterious about him? Well, it was the fact that even though he's experienced hell and back during his time in Fenrir, he's still a happy go lucky soul who continued to cling onto hope. Originally, she thought he was faking it, but it turns out that he isn't, that even after seeing the worst of humanity he continues to believe in the goodness of everyone around him._**

 ** _In addition, his actions were unpredictable to her. When her sister began defying Monokuma, an event she had scripted to kill the lucky student, she didn't expect Naegi to notice she was in danger, not to mention successfully save her at the same time. There was also the fact her sister had a gigantic crush on the boy which had formed over something as insignificant as a smile…_**

 ** _Remembering this gave her an idea. She was going to keep both Naegi and her sister alive for now in hopes they'll develop a relationship. Once they do so, Enoshima will expose her sister's identity to him, causing the boy to despair due to the fact he dated one of the two people involved with creating the killing game. This will in turn cause Ikusaba to despair as Naegi will likely see her as a monster. Granted, they may never date, and there was actually a high chance he might end up having a relationship with Maizono, but this uncertainty also excited her. Predictability was something she despised, which was why she was willing to keep them alive even though they deserved death…_**

 ** _"I'll keep you alive, for now. But you'll soon wish I didn't, for I promise that I'll crush that hope you continuously cling onto. And when I do, I'll savior the look on your face, in which it'll serve as a constant reminder that hope is no match against despair…"_**

0000

To everyone in the gymnasium, it felt as if took Monokuma hours to decide the fate of Enoshima and Naegi. In reality, it only took him a little over a minute.

"...Normally I'd have no problem with punishing naughty rule breakers, especially after giving them a warning," Monokuma said, referring to the time when he almost blew up Owada. "But I'm feeling extra generous today. After all, someone finally committed murder and it would be a shame if we were to lose four people already-"

"And yet you have no problem executing nearly all of us if we do not find the blackened," Celeste interrupted.

"That's different! You guys will actually be playing the killing game," Monokuma replied, weakly defending his decision. "Anyways, I'm going to let you both live-"

Enoshima and Naegi released a loud sigh in relief upon hearing this.

"-But I'm still not going to let your defiance go unpunished. From now on, you both will be given a severe disadvantage in the game. What it is, you bastards will have to find out for yourselves. It makes things more interesting. But let me make something clear, this'll be the last time I ever show mercy. Next time someone breaks the rules, I'll kill them without hesitation. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" Ishimaru shouted, acting as if he was speaking to a real teacher. Meanwhile, everyone else nodded their heads in understanding, though it was clear some of them were more interested in the disadvantage Naegi and Enoshima will be given. As for the model and soldier, they were just glad to be alive.

"Good. Now for the reason I've summoned you here." Reaching behind the podium, Monokuma pulled out fifteen tablets. "Since I'm such a nice guy, I've decided to help you in your investigation by giving you these. These bad boys are the Monokuma files, a tool you'll certainly find very valuable. They have important information about the victim, so if you have no idea on where to start, then I suggest powering up these bad boys. Now, I've wasted enough time here, so I'll leave you to investigate to your heart's desires. Use this time wisely…"

With that, Monokuma disappeared behind the podium. A few seconds later, the intercom turned on.

"A body has been discovered" Monokuma gleefully said from the monitor, unable to contain his excitement. "After a certain amount of time, which you can use however you like, there will be a class trial. And yes, I know I already told you all this but a body discovery announcement is supposed to play after three people find a corpse. I just so happened to forget this time around. Oopsies. Anyways, I'll see you soon.~"

"U-uh, has anyone ever done something like this before?" Fujisaki asked, not really knowing what to do. Unfortunately, all she got in response were head shakes. "I thought so…"

"Monokuma did give each of us a Monokuma file," Kirigiri informed her. "I suggest we take a look at it before we do anything else."

With everyone silently agreeing with Kirigiri, Naegi powered on the tablet, which upon doing so gave a brief summary on the crime scene.

"The victim is Yasuhiro Hagakure," the file read. "The time of death was about 1:15 am. The victim seems to have been killed by a knife through the chest, but there seems to be various other injuries on his wrists and his throat."

"Well that didn't tell us shit," Owada groaned, annoyed by the lack of information Monokuma gave them. Togami simply rolled his eyes at the gang leader.

"If course it didn't. If more information were to be released, then we would have no problem catching the blackened, something Monokuma obviously doesn't want to happen. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a game to win."

"Here he goes with that 'game' shit again," Owada growed. "God I want to punch him right now."

"Before you go, I would like to set something up," Kirigiri told Togami, not hearing Owada's comment. The prodigy looked at her curiously.

"What is it that you want?"

"We should have someone guard the crime scene," the amnesiac said, causing some of her peers to give her questioning looks.

"Why would we do that?" Asahina asked.

"It's because you want anyone to mess up the crime scene, correct?" Celeste questioned. Kirigiri gave her a nod in response.

"Yes. Without anyone watching the scene, what's stopping the blackened from destroying any traces of their involvement?"

Togami smirked at her. "I like the way you think. But I suggest we have two guards. Who knows if the person we pick as the guard is secretly the blackened."

"You're right. Now, the question is, who should be the ones to take such a responsibility?"

"I'll do it," Ogami replied, volunteering herself. "As the Ultimate Martial Artist, I believe I am greatly suited for such a task. Anyone who wants to desecrate the crime scene will have a bad time…"

"Eh, fuck it! I'll be the second guard," Owada said, slamming his fist into his palm. "I won't be much help in the investigating anyways."

"Well, we have our guards, should we commence the investigation?" Ishimaru asked, pleased with those chosen to protect Hagakure's dead body. Kirigiri nodded.

"Yes. Let us begin."

0000

With the preparations out of the way, Naegi immediately began heading towards the crime scene, ready to start his investigation. There was a reason he wanted to go to the crime scene first, it was because he wanted to perform a quick autopsy on the body. While Naegi was no detective, being a soldier made him familiar with the various ways someone could be killed and for how long someone was dead for. In addition, the Monokuma file never explicitly states the actual cause of death, only assuming it was the knife that dealt the killing blow.

"Naegi! Wait up!" Turning around, Naegi saw Maizono running after him. Coming to a complete stop, Naegi waited for the idol to catch up.

"Hey Maizono, is there something you need?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if we could work together to solve this mystery," The idol said, giving him a smile.

"Huh, why do you want to work with me?" Naegi asked, confused as to why she would choose him to work with. Sure they were friends, but there were certainly other people who had an idea on what they were doing. After the autopsy, Naegi really had no idea what to do next.

"Well, I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing," Maizono admitted. "But I want to help out as much as I can and since you seem like you know what you're doing, I thought I could assist you."

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure Togami and Kirigiri know about investigating than I do," Naegi bashfully told her, referring to how they carried themselves earlier. "I don't even fully know what to do. Why don't you work with them?"

"Well… Kirigiri's nice, but she's not very social. As for Togami, do I really need to explain why I don't want to be near him?"

"Not really," Naegi said, understanding where she was coming from. "Well, if this is what you want to do, then I won't stop you. In fact, I'll be glad to have you around."

"Thank you. I promise I won't let you down."

0000

As everyone else began leaving the gymnasium, Ikusaba stood in place, waiting for her sister to address her. After Naegi had saved her, Enoshima had contacted her via a small communication device the lucky student was wearing and told her to stay in place.

Right now, Ikusaba didn't know how to feel. She loved her sister and was willing to do anything for her, but she just tried to kill her for no apparent reason. Of course, when Enoshima told her to start a conflict with Monokuma, she didn't think twice about doing so.

"Looks like everyone's gone," Enoshima said through the communication device. "Good, now we can get down to business…"

"Why?"

"Why what?" Enoshima asked in a mocking tone.

"Why did you try to kill me?"

"Well my dear sister, it was for the sake of despair," Enoshima declared, shocking Ikusaba. She knew how much her sister loved that feeling, but did she really value it over her flesh and blood? "I knew that the death of my sister would bring me such agonizing despair, and I couldn't resist the temptation any longer! I'm pretty sure you understand."

"I don't," the lucky student declared. "After everything I've done for you, after I've taken care of you, protected you, helped you end the world, you tried to kill me, all for some sick fetish! I thought you loved me…"

"Silly goose, I never loved you. I never loved anyone," Enoshima said. That was the final straw for Ikusaba.

"What's stopping me from revealing you as the mastermind?"

"What's stopping you? Well, two things actually. First off, doing so will reveal your part in creating this killing game and what will everyone think? What will Naegi think?"

Hearing that caused Ikusaba to flinch. It was true that Naegi would see her as a monster, a monster who sacrificed all her classmates for sister's entertainment.

"Well, it doesn't matter what Naegi would think, for if you tell anyone, I'll kill him. Just imagine, his last thoughts being how shitty of a person you are before he dies from your stupidity. We don't want that, don't we?"

"...No," Ikusaba answered, knowing full well that Enoshima had her trapped.

"Good. Now just continue pretending to be me and your precious soldier won't die by my hands. And remember, I always watching you…"

0000

Entering Hagakure's room, Naegi and Maizono noticed that Ogami and Owada had already begun to do their job, watching over the corpse like a hawk. Meanwhile, Kirigiri was squatting on the floor, seemingly investigating something. What she was doing, neither Naegi nor Maizono knew.

"Uh, Kirigiri,what are you doing?" Naegi asked her. Continuing her search, the girl didn't bother to face him while answering his question.

"Searching."

"Searching for what?"

"I'll tell you when I'm finished," Kirigiri replied in a passive aggressive tone, telling him she didn't want to be bothered.

"Ok. Do you mind if I perform an autopsy on the body real quick?"

"Wait, you know how to do an autopsy?" Maizono asked. This caused Kirigiri to look at him in interest. She knew Naegi wasn't as normal as he claims he is, but she didn't know he had enough knowledge to actually be able to perform an autopsy effectively.

"Heh, yeah. It's a skill I've managed to pick up during my lifetime."

"Performing an autopsy isn't something anyone could pick up," Kirigiri declared as she stood up, looking at the boy directly in the eyes. "Who are you Makoto Naegi?"

Time seemed to slow down for the boy. Kirigiri was so close to finding out the truth and he didn't know what to say. Thankfully, the girl decided to drop the case, for now.

"Tch, it doesn't matter now. I have more important stuff to focus on, but mark my words: once this trial is over, I will learn who you are." Finished speaking to Naegi, Kirigiri began squatting again. "You may perform the autopsy."

"...Thanks," Naegi said as he began feeling the body while Ogami and Owada watched him do so. After five minutes of carefully investigating the body while trying his best to keep the crime scene in tact, Naegi eventually got all the information he needed.

"So, did you find anything?" Maizono asked him.

"Actually I did," Naegi replied. "Based on his body structure, Hagakure was actually quite weak, meaning the killer didn't need to be physically strong to overpower him. His cause of death was straguation. Notice the bruises on his neck? The way the knife is placed in his body also suggests the person who placed it there was rather squirmish about doing so. It doesn't even go that deep into his stomach region. Lastly, there was certainly a struggle here. Hagakure has a small bruise on the back of his head and some non-lethal slash marks on his wrists."

 **Cause of Death added to Truth Bullets.**

 **Hagakure's Physique added to Truth Bullets.**

 **Signs of Struggle added to Truth Bullets.**

"You managed to get all that just by touching a dead body?" Maizono asked him, surprised. "That's amazing!"

"Heh, thanks," Naegi said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

"Indeed it is," Kirigiri said as she continued her investigation.

"So, did you find anything while I did the autopsy?"

"Actually, I did, but I don't really think it's that useful," Maizono answered before pointing to the furniture in Hagakure's room. Taking a good look at the desk and all his fortune telling supplies, Naegi noticed they had all been knocked down. "All the furniture knocked down, doesn't it help prove that a struggle did happen here?"

"Yeah, it does," Naegi said before giving her a smile.

 **Signs of Struggle Updated.**

The two continued searching around the room for a bit, but couldn't really find anything new.

"Well, should we go now?" Maizono asked. Though Naegi didn't want to leave yet, he knew there were other places they had to explore.

"Yeah, I guess." Looking at Kirigiri, Naegi began to ask her a question. "If you find anything else here, could you tell us?"

"Sure."

0000

"So, where do you want to go next?" Maizono asked him once they left Hagakure's room. "I was thinking about searching the kitchen since it's obvious the knife came from there."

"Actually, that's a good idea," Naegi said with a smile.

Upon entering the kitchen, Naegi and Maizono saw Asahina was there already, looking quite worried.

"I'm going to check the back of the kitchen, ok?" Maizono told Naegi before she went to the back of the kitchen, leaving him with Asahina.

"Hey Asahina, are you alright?" Naegi asked her. Trying her best to stay strong, Asahina gave him a weak smile

"Yeah, I am," Asahina replied. "I just have no idea what to do. I'm not exactly the smartest person around."

"That's fine," Naegi told her. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Um, I know this is a random question, but did you see anything suspicious before Hagakure died?"

"Actually, I did!" Asahina said. "The day after the videos were shown, I was here drinking tea with Ogami when I saw someone enter the kitchen. When I spoke to them, they ended acting rather odd, as if they didn't want to be caught. When they left, I went to get more tea and noticed that a knife was missing."

"Really? That is strange. And who might this person be?"

"Maizono."

Upon hearing this, Naegi could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. "Are you sure it was her?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Asahina responded. "If you don't believe me, then you can ask Ogami."

"No, I believe you," Naegi said, though he had some doubts. Maizono wouldn't kill someone, would she?

Asahina's Testimony added to Truth Bullets

"Hey Naegi, you might want to come back here!" Maizono shouted from the back of the kitchen. Hearing this, the boy made his way to the back of the kitchen.

"What's wrong?"

"Look, two knives are missing," Maizono told him. Looking at where the knives were located, Naegi noticed that she was right, two knives were in fact missing.

'This means the killer could be the other person who took a knife,' Naegi thought to himself. Asahina did say Maizono only took one knife.

 **Missing Knives added to Truth Bullets**

Eventually finding nothing of interest in the kitchen, the pair left the area and began searching elsewhere, Naegi hoping to find more proof that Maizono wasn't Hagakure's killer.

0000

Taking their investigation out of the dorms, Maizono and Naegi began searching each and every room for any clues which could be used to point out who the killer might have been. Unfortunately, it seemed the murderer didn't use anything outside the dorm rooms, for the pair couldn't find anything noteworthy. The only thing they did find was the now empty box in the rec room, but that was there even before the murder happened.

 **Video Tapes added to Truth Bullets.**

0000

As Maizono and Naegi began walking back to the dormitory, they ended up bumping into Togami who had a frustrated look on his face. Seeing as the affluent prodigy could be upset about something dealing with the case, Naegi went to see what was wrong.

"Hey Togami, everything alright?" Naegi asked. Looking at the boy, Togami scoffed.

"You have eyes, don't you? Does it look like I'm alright? I've been trying to find that imbecile Yamada for awhile now. He's taking up too much of my time."

"Why do you need to see Yamada?" Maizono asked, confused on what Togami could possibly want with Yamada.

"If you must know, he is currently in possession of the key to the incinerator," Togami informed them. "I saw some objects in there which caught my attention, so I need him to open the gate so I may investigate them."

"Oh, ok. But why does Yamada have the key to the incinerator?" Naegi wondered.

"Actually, I can answer that," Maizono replied. "You see, Monokuma assigns someone trash duty each week, giving them the keys to the incinerator so they could do so. From what I heard, Yamada took the first shift."

"Ah, I see. Well, I personally think that we should go find Yamada," Naegi stated. "The objects Togami found might be related to the case in some way."

"I'll be coming with you, naturally," Togami informed them. Naegi simply nodded at the boy while Maizono tried her best to hold in a groan of annoyance.

 **Trash Duty added to Truth Bullets.**

0000

Vigorously searching around the school for the FanFiction creator, the three eventually found him in the laundry room.

"Hey Yamada, I heard you have the key to the incinerator," Naegi said to him. "Could you open it up for us? We want to check something out real quick."

"Ah, so it seems my time to shine has come," Yamada declared in a dramatic fashion. "Very well then, I shall open the door for you."

"Good, now make it quick," Togami ordered. "I've wasted enough time looking for you as it is. Now make yourself useful."

"EEEEEH! Of course Togami!"

0000

Arriving at the incinerator, Yamada opened the gate, allowing the three investigators to search around the area. Noticing a peculiar item lying on the floor, Togami stepped forwards and picked it up. "Hmm, how interesting."

"What did you find?" Naegi asked.

"One of Hagakure's crystal balls. The bum seemed to have a fascination with these things, even believing them to be made out of real crystals. However, one can easily see this particular one was made out of glass."

Taking the ball, Naegi observed it and noticed Togami was right. In fact, if it's appearance and texture didn't confirm his claim, the fact it was shattered was enough to show it was made out of glass. "Huh, you're right. Now the question is, what is this doing here?"

"Gah! The incinerator's on!" Yamada yelled, just realizing that it was actually turned on. "How can this be? I turned this off when I was in here last time!"

"Are you sure that you did?" Togami asked. ''For all we know, you could be lying to us."

"I swear it was off. In fact, this wasn't here either!" Yamada answered, pointing to a piece of cloth lying on the floor. Examining it, Naegi was able to figure out that it was a part of a sleeve of a shirt. It didn't take a genius to figure this out.

 **Piece of Cloth added to Truth Bullets.**

 **Yamada's Account added to Truth Bullets.**

 **Broken Crystal Ball added to Truth Bullets.**

"Hey Yamada, was this here before?" Maizono asked him, showing him the shattered crystal ball. Yamada shook his head.

"No. That wasn't there either. How strange."

"How strange indeed," Togami mused to himself. A few seconds later, another person entered the boiler room, the person being Kirigiri.

"I've finally found you," Kirigiri said, addressing Naegi. "You said you wanted to know what I was doing earlier, correct?"

"Yeah. Did you find anything?"

Kirigiri nodded. "I did. When I first entered Hagakure's room, I noticed that despite the clear signs of a struggle, his floor was rather clean. I ended up finding out why this was, for the killer used a roller to clean up the room to cover any traces of them being in there."

 **Roller added to Truth Bullets**

"Really? That's crazy!" Maizono exclaimed. Kirigiri was about to say something else, but the school's intercom turned on, interrupting the girl from saying anything else.

"Hey there everyone!" Monokuma gleefully shouted from the monitor. "I hope you utilized your time wisely and searched for clues on who Hagakure's killer is because it's time for the class trial! Please make your way to the set of red doors near the gymnasium. I can hardly contain my excitement!"

"So, it's time," Maizono nervously said once the announcement finished playing.

"I guess it is," Naegi replied.

"Do you think we'll find the killer?"

"I do, no, I know we will," Naegi told her. "I have full confidence in the abilities of all of you."

"Alright, I believe you."

0000

Arriving at the red doors and opening them, Naegi realized that he was the last to arrive again. This was a common trend Naegi really wanted to end. Looking around, he saw all his classmates looking at one another with suspicion, not knowing who the blackened was among them. Eventually, Monokuma appeared.

"Well, it's time boys and girls," Monokuma told them. "Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you wet? Because I'm all three!"

"What a pervert…" Fukawa muttered under her breath.

"Anyways, please enter the elevator door which'll take you to the courtroom. I'll meet you down there. See you soon!" With that, Monokuma disappeared. After some hesitation, everyone began boarding the elevator.

'So, this is it,' Naegi thought to himself. 'The first trial. I'll make sure to catch Hagakure's killer not just for my survival but for the survival of everyone else. It'll be a battle of truth verses lies, one verses all, a battle to decide who'll live. In short, it a battle between hope and despair…'

0000

 **Author's Note 2: any of you who're also following my Persona story will be glad to know that it'll finally be updated either this week or next week :-). Also, after** **I finish writing this story, I've been thinking of making a prequel to this depicting this version of Naegi's school life before the killing game began. Would you guys be interested in that?**


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